The City of Edmonds has been working to address housing instability and human services for many years. City Council set aside $250,000 in the 2018 budget and established a homelessness response fund to address the local homelessness issue. The Council formed a Task Force and hired KONE Consulting to conduct an assessment to determine the extent of homelessness in Edmonds and to identify services and potential funding available, report below.
In April 2020 the City utilized a portion of this fund for homelessness prevention by providing support to Edmonds residents experiencing hardship due to COVID.
In 2021 the Mayor established a Homelessness Task Force whose goal was to provide recommendations on addressing homelessness, unlawful use of public space and homeless prevention. The task force was a collaboration between first responders (fire and police), social workers, the local shelter and local faith-based institutions, further it included Edmonds City Councilmembers and three City staff representing Planning and Human Services. Nine of the 14 task force members were Edmonds residents. The Homelessness Task Force recommendations can be viewed here.
In 2021 KONE Consulting was contracted to provide an update to the 2019 KONE report above. The updated report includes new data on the extent of homelessness in Edmonds, an updated inventory of homeless services, actual and potential funding for services, and best practices from the region and country. The assessment update can be found below.
KONE Consulting:
The initial KONE Report was presented to City Council in February of 2019.
The KONE Consulting Homelessness Assessment Update to the 2019 Report can be viewed here.