During the last week of January, eight teams from around Washington State gathered in Seattle for the first session of the 2009 Supportive Housing Institute. The Institute, funded through a joint effort by Washington State's Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED), Department of Social and Health Services (Mental Health Division), Impact Capital, and the Washington Families Fund, brings regional teams to the table to build practical knowledge for developing permanent supportive housing in their communities.

Consultants from the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH), Common Ground, and Building Changes use an evidence-based curriculum (created by CSH but specifically adapted for use in Washington State) to take teams through the development process, step-by-step. The curriculum uses interactive presentations, exercises, group work, guest speakers, and site tours to get teams ready to take on the sometimes daunting task of creating housing for hard-to-serve populations.

This year's Institute includes teams from Clark, Clallam, Yakima, Cowlitz, and Chelan-Douglas Counties, as well as three teams based in Pierce County. One of the Pierce County teams is from the Alesek Institute, an organization dedicated to promoting the well being of Native Americans through the provision of housing, health and social services. Teams consist of developers, mental health service providers, housing authority representatives, regional service network representative, local and county government officials, and homeless service providers, as well as other community stakeholders (such as social service agency board members and homeless advocates). Each of these teams has many strengths, and also faces different challenges in bringing the right community stakeholders to the table.

The first session focused on understanding supportive housing models, the basics of the development process, partnerships and defining team roles. CSH also previewed a new set of tools for building quality measures into the development process. Much of the discussion centered on basic questions about who to serve (target population), what type of development (i.e. whether to build a new facility, or renovate or "rehab" an existing building) makes sense in each community, and the delegation of roles and responsibilities among team members. Participants also visited two sites in West Seattle, which served to illustrate what high-quality permanent supportive housing really looks like (and what doesn't quite hit the mark).

The eight teams will continue working on their plans throughout the year, creating detailed budgets, outlining potential funding sources, and soliciting input from community stakeholders (including prospective tenants). The Institute will culminate with team presentations in September, and hopefully lead not only to increased capacity for permanent supportive housing, but to successful funding requests for teams as well.

The next session of the Supportive Housing Institute will take place in late March and will include a panel of public and private funders.