Extension of Bayside Overnight Emergency Shelter Funding Promises Continued Support for Jefferson County's Homeless Residents
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Caswell-Brown planning to expand to include eight small shelters with the capacity to house an additional 39 people. Photo by Scott France [/caption]
News by Angela Downs
The Bayside Overnight Emergency Shelter at the American Legion has been funded by the City/County Housing Fund Board (HFB) through the end of the year.
This success is an example of how the web of Jefferson County service providers can come together to offer care for the impoverished citizens of our area.
The Emergency Shelter Funding Review meeting discussed the extension of shelter operations through December 31, 2025, with Bayside and AL. The Bayside Overnight Emergency Shelter at the American Legion is currently hosting 30-35 guests nightly.
HFB intends to cover the remaining $85,000 operational dollars on the bill for the shelter while staying at the American Legion, and will continue to fund the shelter through the first quarter of 2026 if the new construction at Caswell Brown isn’t ready to receive residents.
“There is an evolving matrix of non-profits and public sector working together in collaborative processes to fill the gaps the community faces,” District 3 County Commissioner Greg Brotherton said. These collaborations are essential to community success.
One such collaborator is Dove House, a nonprofit offering services for victims of domestic violence and their families. Serving 21 people nightly, it operates on a tight budget.
Beulah Kingsolver, the Executive Director of Dove House, explained the impact of state funding cuts and the need to maintain service levels at the May 28th Board of County Commissioners meeting.
Dove House requested $40,000 from the HFB to fund housing and services for the rest of the fiscal year, which the board approved.
What happens to shelter residents in January?
In September of 2022, OlyCap opened a temporary supervised shelter village outside of Port Townsend on Mill Road called Caswell Brown. Permitted for up to 50 people, the village replaced the encampment at the county fairgrounds and was named after two people who died in Port Townsend from causes that would have been preventable if they had access to adequate housing.
OlyCap is working on a project at Caswell Brown, both to build eight tiny shelters as night-by-night housing and a larger congregate building.
They have to begin construction by October and project that it's going to take three months to complete, putting them just inside the January deadline. The original award of $660,000 for OlyCap's project currently costs $560,068 for the bathroom, shower, and sanitation facilities.
With private fundraising, they are adding the eight tiny shelters near where the new congregate building will be. So there will be 39 beds for those who need them.
OlyCap was allowed to modify their contract to focus on the sanitation building and congregate building, and include the $30,000 request for the electrical work for the eight tiny shelters.
“No money [from HFB] has been committed to first quarter ’26 yet, but the option remains open,” Brotherton said.
The Shelter Coalition discussed complaints about conditions at the American Legion Shelter at the operations meeting. With old, expensive, and complicated infrastructure, there are issues with plumbing. The additional capacity puts extra pressure on the systems, but the coalition says that complaints about sanitation, dogs, and discomfort have all been addressed and resolved through conflict resolution communication.
