Homeless Housing Network sets up shop in Wenatchee, connecting at-risk families to community resources

WENATCHEE—The Wenatchee Homeless Housing Network (HHN) opened at Link Transit’s Columbia Station in Downtown Wenatchee. It aims to connect community members who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to various local resources. Through teamwork with a plethora of local organizations, the HHN works to help at-risk Wenatchee inhabitants find independence, stability, and housing to meet their individual needs.

The Homeless Housing Network operates the Coordinated Entry program, a federal and state mandate that prioritizes assisting the most vulnerable people within communities in acquiring access to housing services. Through Coordinated Entry, the HHN assesses each of its at-risk applicants to find the local programs and resources that will best help each person or family’s unique situation. The HHN is then able to connect those assessed as high-risk to more urgent resources, expediting the process and creating a complex and active list of applicants receiving assistance.

Angie Ervin, the HHN’s Coordinated Entry Lead, explained the network’s crucial role in connecting local homeless people and those at risk of homelessness with vital resources while they wait for housing opportunities. 

“And besides just the housing part, we have been able to give people a lot of resources to kind help them do things in the meantime. There’s lots of things that people can do for themselves that they don’t realize is out there for them. You know, not everybody necessarily needs a house right now and they don’t realize there’s other resources out there,” Ervin explained, revealing other ways in which the HHN strives to protect locals from homelessness. “People think they’re getting kicked out of their house when they’re just told ‘you need to pay or you’re gonna get kicked out.’ So there’s resources out there that can actually help them get through those payments in those situations. And so we can connect them to other resources that help them, that’s a big part of our job as well. It’s not just, ‘let’s get you into a house.’” 

In helping so many individuals and families with varying worries, disadvantages, and disabilities, the HHN works alongside a massive team of organizations, including the Community Action Council, Women’s Resource Center, and YWCA, to aid applicants not just with housing but also with food, employment assistance, and emergency shelter.

Chelan County Homeless Housing Program Manager, Amber Hallberg, commented on the teamwork required to tackle the many problems connected to local homelessness.

“There’s a lot of community collaboration, a lot of collaboration between agencies,” Hallberg noted, expanding on the HHN’s intensive community coordination to find help for their applicants. “We actually have a standing meeting once a month called the case conference meeting. And the first part of the meeting is kind of getting updates from each other because so much changes at different agencies often. Then, the second half of the meeting, we have confidentiality agreements that we sign and data share agreements, then we’re able to talk about the clients and about solutions for them. If they’re just like on the cusp, but there might be just a piece they’re missing, then we’re able to kind of problem solve and help out each other.” 

Behind the HHN’s front desk, Juan Loeza and Jon Davies work as Coordinated Entry administrative specialists, standing on the front lines of the HHN’s mission to help connect locals at risk of homelessness to essential community resources. 

“One of the main things is taking inputs, so phone calls, web applications, emails, people trying to come in themselves in person,” Davies described the often busy yet rewarding nature of his and Loeza’s work. “Family members sometimes come in and say, ‘we need help with someone…’ and then we process them and do an assessment to help sort them on our list according to various programs they’re eligible for or have been viewed candidates for. Sometimes, when I hang up, it’s already ringing again. I’ll do like four [calls] in a row. It’s pretty cool, it makes the day fly by.” 

Loeza described one of the biggest challenges that he and Davies face while trying to help people.

“The biggest challenge I would say would be when you have someone in a hotel and they have a certain time to be on the streets… as part of that, the biggest challenge is to try to find something fast when you just can’t,” Loeza explained, hoping to help every person who calls.

Another major challenge for HHN comes when trying to assist applicants who have not updated their contact information and who are thus extremely difficult to find when housing has been allocated for them. Coordinated Entry Lead Ervin recommends that all Coordinated Entry applicants check in with HHN to update their information in order to ensure they can be reached by the time resources have been found. 

In just the first two weeks of operation, the HHN has successfully housed four families with permanent housing. One particular family had specific medical needs and was in a dire situation, yet the HHN worked to secure indefinite housing for them. Each day, the HHN team and its many partners in the community work to provide homeless community members and those at risk of homelessness with the resources and hope to make it through the toughest of life’s circumstances. 

To contact the Homeless Housing Network, call 509-436-9086 y para español, oprima el #2.

For more information about homeless housing resources in the Wenatchee Valley, visit www.cewenatchee.com or email Amber Hallberg at amber.hallberg@co.chelan.wa.us.

Will Nilles: (509) 731-3211 or will@ward.media