Supportive Housing Services Funding Announcements

In May 2020, voters in the Tri-County Metro region passed the Supportive Housing Services measure (26-210). Through this measure, Washington County will increase its funding for homeless programs by $38 million in Year 1, increasing to $75 million in Year 3. Washington County plans to use a portion of these funds to increase the shelter capacity within the County.
 

Request for Proposals: Shelter Operations

Efforts are now underway for two proposed shelter projects. Washington County issued a Shelter Operator Request for Proposal (RFP) for operator(s) to operate shelters located at two hotels within the County. One of the shelters will have a wing for COVID impacted residents. The County issued the RFP in early April for operator(s) with the ability to operate and provide or partner with service providers to deliver necessary services.

Proposals must be submitted electronically via the ProcureNow secure portal no later than 4:00 p.m. on Monday, April 26, 2021. If you have never used ProcureNow, you will need to create an account. There are also ProcureNow instructions available for your reference.

An informational meeting and feedback session was held on March 18 to provide details on the RFP process for potential operators of the two shelters.

March 18 meeting PowerPoint link (English PDF)

March 18 meeting PowerPoint link (Spanish PDF)

Request for Programmatic Qualifications: Supportive Housing Services

Washington County wants to partner with organizations interested in providing Supportive Housing Services to people experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in the county. The County is launching an ambitious strategy to build a countywide system of care to address and prevent homelessness through services and supports that lead to housing stability and equitable outcomes. This work will be funded through resources from the new regional Supportive Housing Services (SHS) ballot measure that was passed by voters in the tri-county metro region in May 2020.

As the first step in this process, Washington County has issued a Request for Programmatic Qualifications (RFPQ). The RFPQ opened on April 19, and proposals must be submitted by May 19. The RFPQ is available on the County’s ProcureNow secure portal. For more information on how to access the portal see “How to Get the RFPQ” below.

RFPQ Overview
Washington County’s Department of Housing Services (DHS) is seeking to partner with organizations to contract with the County to provide services to support implementation of key components of the County’s recently approved Supportive Housing Services Local Implementation Plan.

The County’s SHS programs will serve people experiencing prolonged homelessness with complex disabilities, as well as people experiencing short-term homelessness or at risk of homelessness. The County’s SHS plan is guided by a commitment to lead with racial equity by especially meeting the needs of Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, Asians, Pacific Islanders, immigrants, and refugees.

Contracted services will include:

• Outreach and engagement
• Shelter and transitional housing
• Housing navigation, placement and eviction prevention
• Supportive housing stabilization services
• Wrap-around supports

Specific services will be designed to meet the distinct needs of seniors, children, persons with disabilities, individuals with mental health or substance use disorders, criminal justice involved individuals, households impacted by domestic violence, youth exiting foster care, unaccompanied homeless youth, people who identify as LGBTQ+, women and people living with certain chronic health conditions.

DHS seeks to identify a diverse range of organizations that it can partner with to build a countywide system of care, including, but not limited to:

• Culturally specific organizations
• Community-based service providers
• Affordable housing owners and operators
• Outreach organizations
• Shelter and transitional housing providers
• Behavioral health and community health providers
• Providers of wrap-around services and supports
• Faith-based organizations

No contracts will be issued directly as a result of the RFPQ process. The intent is to establish a pool of organizations that will be eligible to be selected through separate allocation processes to enter into contracts with DHS for specific services. The RFPQ process will be used to identify organizations that currently provide these services as well as organizations that do not currently provide these services but are interested in doing so. DHS understands that many organizations will need capacity building and technical assistance supports as part of their expansion to deliver SHS services.

How to Get the RFPQ
The RFPQ is available on the County’s ProcureNow secure portal. If you have never used ProcureNow, you will need to create an account. There are also ProcureNow instructions available for your reference.

If you run into technical challenges or have questions about how to use the ProcureNow portal, contact Suzi Fulcher, Purchasing Manager, at suzi_fulcher@co.washington.or.us or 503-846-8734.