PORT ORCHARD — County leaders hope to open a 75-bed homeless shelter as early as next fall where guests could receive behavioral health and medical care, among other services.

The proposed shelter, dubbed the Kitsap Housing Navigation Center, would serve the county's most vulnerable residents. Unlike existing emergency shelters, the new facility would be open all day, year-round. Modeled on "Navigation Centers" established in other cities, including Seattle, the shelter would enlist community organizations to offer services such as health care, employment counseling and housing referrals, to help clients regain stability.

Planning for the Kitsap Housing Navigation Center is still in the early stages — a location and funding sources have yet to be nailed down — but county staff gave commissioners a preview of the project at a meeting in Port Orchard on Wednesday.

Housing and homelessness program coordinator Kirsten Jewell said the need for a large, low-barrier shelter remains urgent in Kitsap.

"One of the biggest needs we identified in the county was for additional shelter beds, specifically for people who could really benefit from having supportive services readily available to them," Jewell said Friday.

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Urgent need for shelter

Roughly 160 Kitsap residents were identified as living without adequate shelter during the annual point-in-time count conducted last month, according to a preliminary estimate from the county (firmer figures are still being tabulated).

Jewell said the large number of people staying at severe weather shelters and the Salvation Army emergency shelter in Bremerton this winter reinforces the demand for a facility that is open year-round. The emergency shelters are available from November through March.

"The people using them now won't stop needing them March 31," Jewell noted.

About 300 clients served by Kitsap Mental Health Services report being homeless, making it more difficult for behavioral health professionals to keep them connected to care.

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“Too many people are suffering without shelter in our community," Kitsap Mental Health CEO Joe Roszak said in an email Friday. "Navigation Centers offer year-round shelter for some of the most vulnerable people, with a model designed to support persons with mental health, substance use and medical conditions... there are people living in our community right now who need what a Navigation Center offers.”

Several groups would potentially provide services to guests at the shelter, including Kitsap Mental Health, Peninsula Community Health Services, Harrison HealthPartners, Kitsap Community Resources and WorkSource.

Membrane structure considered

The county is considering a tensioned-membrane structure to house the shelter. Tensioned-membrane buildings provide big, open floor plans and are fast to construct and efficient to operate. County human services director Doug Washburn said the 60-foot-by-120-foot structure proposed for Kitsap could be erected in as little as eight weeks.

"It looks like that might be a really viable option," Washburn said.

Canada-based company Sprung has created tensioned-membrane structures to house Navigation Center shelters in several cities, including San Diego, San Francisco and Toronto. North Kitsap residents are familiar with a Sprung building closer to home: The Point Casino on Hansville Road in Kingston.

Funding still a question mark

Washburn said securing long-term funding to pay for operations at the shelter remains the biggest challenge facing the project. Construction and development expenses are estimated at $1.4 million, while operations could cost $1.7 million per year.

"Our main problem is still going to be the ongoing operations," Washburn said. "and that's what we're looking at."

Funding could come from state grants, private foundations, the county's sales tax for mental health and Medicaid. The county already earmarked $96,000 from its Homeless Grant program for the project.

Kitsap Mental Health, which initially spearheaded the Navigation Center project, requested money from the mental health tax for 2019 but was not funded. The group is also pursuing a permanent supportive housing project.