The Housing Authority of Thurston County (HATC)’s 2023 Annual Community Report showed that the organization had admitted 296 new households to its voucher rental assistance program and lifted another 136 out of homelessness with voucher support.
Thurston’s Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) had a work session with HATC representatives yesterday to share the report.
HATC Executive Director Craig Chance highlighted that this feat is also due to their not having any negative audit findings, unlike their bigger counterparts, where around 70 were arrested for corruption.
“One of the things I’m proud of with people I work, they deal with a very complex federal program, yet for a quarter of a century plus, there’s never been a finding,” said Chance.
With 24 staff members, HATC had constructed 28 new units, granted $12.6 million for senior housing development, and partnered with nonprofits to produce over 120 new units.
Chance also shared how HATC received the highest rating, “High Performing,” after fully utilizing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s grant.
“The rating in large measure reflects the Authority’s successful focus on fully investing its HUD Budget Authority for the benefit of the community,” HATC’s report stated.
The rental assistance is in the form of a $21 Million HUD Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program, where low-income families, individuals, seniors, and people with disabilities receive assistance to pay their rent in apartments and houses owned by private and non-profit owners.
The report stated that the program is the community's largest provider of below-market-rate rentals with 581 units and allocates $2.8 million annually in rental operation subsidies to nine non-profits for specific properties.
More than one new participant secured decent housing daily as HUD awarded 44 additional vouchers, and Emergency Housing Vouchers are fully leased before the HUD deadline.
The voucher waiting list attracted 7,181 diverse applications, with over 50 additional housing providers recruited into the rental assistance program.
The report also shows that 2023 was an “outstanding development year” for HATC.
HATC is set to finish two developments from $12.6 million of grant awards. This is geared toward seniors with extremely to very low incomes.
One facility is Sterling Pines, wherein HATC converts former Tumwater Inn & Suites into 24 housing units.
The other one is at Sequoia North, where the authority will develop 36 units on land they acquired in 2021. The facility is one of the affordable housing projects the Regional Housing Council is looking to fund.
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jimlazar
The Housing Authority is the right place for housing programs to be centralized. It makes no sense for the individual cities to run their own housing programs. Everyone in the County should be taxed equally to support the Housing Authority.
Thursday, May 2 Report this
KarenMcIrish
I pray this senior gets a call/letter. Eight years and holding...
Thursday, May 2 Report this
tolerd
Social Housing is the most likey solution to our housing crisis. Over 50% of Olympia area renters are now facing housing instability which puts them at mush higher risk of homelessness. We need media and our community leaders to recognize that we have a crisis and it is affecting a much broader segment of our community than just the lowest income- it is impacting more like the bottom 40% of our community!
Saturday, May 4 Report this
Lovebug206
The last time I checked the Thurston County Housing Authority Data( 2022) it stated 75 of Thurston County Housing Authority Section 8 choice voucher recipients are white. Well how are we measuring the equity within how the housing vouchers are administered? This is great news but if we are only housing Caucasians and not our Biopic then this News is devastating. So what's is the data with regards to who the housing authority just housed?
Sunday, May 5 Report this
Lovebug206
75%
Sunday, May 5 Report this
Yeti1981
Lovebug206 I mean it makes some sense considering that census data suggests Thurston is 80% white.
Friday, May 10 Report this