Where will people go if 300+ shelter beds are no longer available in Tacoma?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tacoma risks closing 339 shelter beds by June amid uncertain state funding.
- City officials develop contingency plans while coordinating transitional housing.
- Shelter providers and case managers work under time pressure to rehouse residents.
While there is an opportunity to acquire state funding to keep more than 300 homeless shelter beds open, the City of Tacoma is planning for a situation in which the funding does not come through in time.
The City of Tacoma has been planning to close roughly 339 emergency shelter beds by June due to an anticipated funding shortfall. Heading into the 2025 legislative session, the city requested $6 million per year from the Legislature to maintain 307 shelter beds through June 2027.
Maria Lee, spokesperson for the city, said the budget recently passed by the Legislature does not directly name Tacoma as a recipient for such funding but does note an annual allocation of $58.8 million in grant funding to be available to support homeless housing programs and services in cities and counties.
“Although Tacoma isn’t explicitly named in the proviso, legislative staff have verified the City’s eligibility to seek these funds,” Lee told The News Tribune. “We are still trying to understand the process.’
With uncertainty surrounding the process and timeline for achieving the funds, the city is preparing a “contingency plan” for the dozens of unhoused individuals currently staying in shelters set to close in the coming weeks.
During the city’s Community Vitality and Safety Committee meeting on May 8, Caleb Carbone, the homeless strategy, systems and services manager for the Neighborhood and Community Services department, briefed City Council members.
“Given the uncertainties around this funding award and the distribution process, we must develop a contingency plan,” Carbone told the committee. “Planning will allow us to prepare for the worst possible situation.”
Carbone said the city had been coordinating with shelter providers to understand the circumstances of individuals living at the shelters and would develop “client-centered” transitional plans to ensure they either find housing stability or are referred to another supportive program.
Lee told The News Tribune as of May 26, 152 individuals were staying at shelters preparing to close. Down from 222 the month before.
When asked what kind of housing those individuals were being assisted into, Lee said the options include other emergency shelters, shared housing, reunification with family or friends, permanent supportive housing, affordable housing and transitional housing. She said the decisions on where individuals go are guided by availability and individual needs.
“Our primary goal is to ensure everyone is fully aware of the comprehensive services available, as we are resolutely focused on preventing any return to unsheltered homelessness,” Lee told The News Tribune.
When asked for data regarding where individuals staying at closing shelters were being moved to, Lee told The News Tribune the city had “no specifics” to share as of May 29 but might be able to share progress in the future.
Tacoma Rescue Mission shelter
Tacoma Rescue Mission operates the largest emergency shelter preparing to close in June. Forging Paths Community, 3561 Pacific Ave., previously had 135 shelter beds — roughly 12% of the city’s shelter capacity at the beginning of 2025.
Tacoma Rescue Mission executive director Duke Paulson told The News Tribune the shelter stopped accepting new people in the shelter weeks ago in preparation for the stand down.
While Paulson said he had not seen “any special initiative” from the city ahead of the June stand down, case managers at the shelter have been working hard to find other options for the people living there.
Paulson expressed optimism when asked if there was a strain on case managers trying to find alternative living arrangements for the 114 living in the shelter.
“Its hard work, but it’s what the case managers do all the time,” he told The News Tribune. “There are options available given time and a person’s motivation — which is high now.”
Paulson said he worries about what will happen if the city cannot get the state funding needed to keep the shelters open long-term.
“I am anxious about how it will affect the community with that number of people being displaced,” he said.
How did we get here?
When Tacoma’s homelessness strategy was drafted in 2022, it was anticipated that there would be a funding gap of roughly $12 million to maintain the shelters at the end of 2024. Part of the city’s plan included increasing the inventory of permanent affordable-housing units to provide housing opportunities for those living in shelters.
Carbone previously told The News Tribune that during the pandemic, one-time funding opportunities, like those through the American Rescue Plan Act as well as resources from the state, were used to support the operation of the shelters. The city significantly increased its homeless-shelter capacity at a time when it was needed.
“The challenge has been that the demand for temporary shelter beds has exceeded the initial expectations,” Tacoma’s deputy city manager Sonja Hallum told The News Tribune in an interview. “So the stand down is not happening at the pace that the city had originally expected and hoped would occur.”
Hallum said the beds set to disappear in 2025 represent a “significant” portion of the city’s shelter beds. The city had about 1,099 shelter beds as of the beginning of 2025.
With Tacoma hosting what is about 80% of Pierce County’s shelter capacity, the loss of shelter funding would have county-wide implications, Hallum said.
“So the impact isn’t just for the city, it’s for the entire region,” she told The News Tribune. “We are greatly concerned about the ability to provide for this very vulnerable population.”
This story was originally published May 31, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
