In July 2020, following an open application process, the City Council appointed a diverse group of Lacey community members to serve on the Community Workgroup on Homelessness. The workgroup’s community-driven process explores the experience of people facing homelessness in the community. This exploration includes an examination of current approaches, discussions of issues, assessment of community support for potential goals and strategies, and the development of a recommendation to the City Council.
Phase I: Identify
August 2020 – February 2021
Phase 2: Develop
October 2020 – April 2021
Phase 3: Review
April 2021 – June 2021
Phase 4: Recommend
June 2021 – February 2022
Initially, Workgroup members met to:
- Establish guidelines about how they would work together
- Gain understanding of the process
Workgroup members also shared what they love about Lacey – part of why they stepped up to participate in this process. Project facilitators help the workgroup keep these things in mind, as they work to develop recommendations for the City Council on issues addressing homelessness in Lacey.
Since then, they have:
- Gathered questions and thoughts on homelessness from people in their networks
- Listened to housed and unhoused community members about their hopes and concerns related to their experience of homelessness locally
Virtual Open House Events
The Workgroup held two Virtual Open Houses on Homelessness in Lacey. THANK YOU to our community participants. Your input was critical to the development of the Workgroup’s homeless-response plan. Read our reports:
Speaker Webinars
To learn more about the community perspectives, the Workgroup participated in a webinar series to gather information and learn about the issues surrounding homelessness.
The Workgroup
- Kasi Andrade
- Gabe Ash
- DeFrance Clark
- Stan Dickoff
- Deanna East
- Scott Ellgen
- “Kenny” Nnabuike Ezeh
- Casey Forsyth
- John Grantham
- Robert Kagy
- Judith Kennedy
- Shannon Lavallie
- Peggy Madsen
- Michael Meredith
- Joe Miller
- Raymond Payne
- Paul Perz
- William Pierpoint
- Edwin Pole
- James Stanton
- Sean Thomte
- Madelin White
- Vyrginia Willis
City staff coordinate the group and provide technical assistance. Meagan Picard, Paul Horton, and Steve Byers of the Athena Group facilitate the community-driven process.
