Case managers from seven counties across Washington State, as well as representatives from Washington State Departments of Commerce and Social and Health Services (DSHS) and Employment Security Division (ESD), came together on July 31 to participate in a Rapid Re-Housing Convening sponsored by Building Changes and hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Five of those counties (Cowitz, Mason, Whatcom, Snohomish, and Spokane) are implementing Ending Family Homelessness (EFH) the state’s rapid re-housing program for TANF families, led by Commerce, DSHS, and ESD. King and Pierce counties drew from the day’s learnings to support the development of their own rapid re-housing programs. 
Providers implementing EFH shared their experiences, gained knowledge, and develop innovative ideas on how to improve rapid re-housing efforts going forward in their communities.
Highlights of the convening included a deep dive into the rapid re-housing model as a highly effective intervention for families and the system of care. By right-sizing services, deploying progressive engagement, including employment strategies with wrap around case management, and coordinating partnerships with mainstream systems, families are becoming permanently housed more quickly and at much lower cost than ever before.
Materials from the convening, listed below, may be downloaded from our Library.
Handouts:
- What is Rapid Re-Housing?
- Rapid Re-Housing Tenets
- Progressive Engagement in Rapid Re-Housing Programs
- Data on Ending Family Homelessness Program from WA State Dept. of Commerce
- Homelessness Recurrence in Georgia: Descriptive Statistics, Risk Factors, and Context-Driven Outcome Measurement
