Housing Authorities Look Beyond Housing to Address Homelessness and Instability

Tacoma Housing Authority began prioritizing housing for college students in 2014. That year, the organization offered assistance to 45 community-college students at high risk of homelessness, and then tracked the progress of them and 150 others who weren’t receiving assistance. Executive Director Michael Mirra said the plan was to do a three-year study, but the need became clear after just two: 60 percent of students receiving the program’s help stayed in school, while just 16 percent of the control group did.

Now, the College Housing Assistance Program serves 250 students at Tacoma Community College and the University of Washington Tacoma. The housing authority partnered with the developer of a new Tacoma high-rise to offer housing for low-income students, and it bought land near the community college where it plans to build 500 units of mixed-income housing.

Read the full article at Bitterroot Magazine.