With $460K grant, Puyallup looks to provide housing, sanitation for the homeless
Pierce County granted the city of Puyallup and local nonprofits $461,834 in federal COVID-19 funds to provide emergency needs to those experiencing homelessness.
The three entities are working together to provide basic needs.
The city Puyallup received $80,000 to place homeless people in hotel rooms and provide support services by creating a “Temporary Community Services Planning Specialist” position. The position will develop a response and recovery plan for vulnerable populations.
“This work will support long-term recovery planning relating to those efforts,” Puyallup spokesperson Brenda Fritsvold said.
The city began placing people in hotel rooms on April 2 and anticipated ending payment for the rooms on Aug. 1, Fritsvold said. Currently, Puyallup is housing 13 people in separate rooms.
“Hotel rooms were offered to certain homeless persons who were determined to be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 per CDC criteria,” Fritsvold said.
The Salvation Army is also providing hotel and motel rooms with emergency vouchers. Capt. John Kelley said the Puyallup Salvation Army receives about five to 10 calls a week asking about shelter.
The $15,000 it received will help replenish the emergency shelter funds that had run out. He looks to restart the hotel program as soon as the money is deposited.
The Salvation Army applied for grants to also provide sanitation and rental assistance to those on the brink of homelessness.
Most of the funds will prevent homelessness, Kelley said. The total $300,000 rental assistance is capped at $2,000 per household, helping at least 150 homes pay rent.
“If we can prevent them from experiencing homelessness, it goes a long way to save those costs of trying to rehouse them,” he said.
The need has more than doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, Kelley said. Before, the Salvation Army would deliver 100 food boxes to Puyallup residents. Now, their weekly deliveries can reach up to 400 households.
He recalled that a few weeks ago, 10 percent of one Puyallup trailer park residents had contracted the virus. The residents were too scared to leave their homes, so the Salvation Army dropped off food to every door.
“The need in this time has increased by measures I’ve never seen before,” he said.
The CARES funding will add sanitation supplies, like masks, cleaning products and laundry soap for the Salvation Army food bank. The allotted $10,000 for hygiene will also include purchasing portable camping showers for those living outside to keep, Kelley said.
“This funding is extremely important for us to assist those who come to us in crisis,” he said. “Without this funding, we would be unable to help people in their time of need.”
Homeward Bound’s New Hope Resource Center Director Paula Anderson expects to buy three to four hand-washing stations and rent portable toilets to also provide sanitation to those living outside with the granted $40,100.
When Puyallup’s temporary encampment location closed, she was worried about access to hygiene for those experiencing homelessness.
Starting June 13, Puyallup reopened some public restrooms, including those at the Puyallup Skate Park, Bradley Lake Park, Pioneer Park, Wildwood Park, and Clarks Creek North.
