What's Happening at HSN?
- The next public screening of the Cultivating Solutions video is on: Saturday, March 7th at 9AM at Blue Heron Middle School, at the beginning of the Home Show.
- HSN’s Outreach team has created a short video about the housing crisis in Jefferson County and some of the innovative responses of local individuals. It is currently being shown throughout the community, followed by facilitated conversations. To watch the preview, click here. To schedule a screening and conversation for your neighborhood, club, faith group, workplace, or friends, contact: justine@jcfgives.org
- HSN’s Housing Action Teams are all working on different initiatives related to increasing housing opportunity. Learn more or join our efforts!
- Stay up to date by following HSN on Facebook!
- The Fund for Women and Girls has made a 2-year grant of $20,000 to Dove House to provide shelter for women in need. Read all about the grant here.
- OlyCAP has secured $75,000 from the County in their efforts to leverage millions of state and federal dollars, as well as tax credits, to build a 44-unit housing development. Read more, and consider giving to the cause.
- Interested in additional grant funding for your housing project? Be sure to check out our grant funding page to determine which are a fit for your project.
Get Inspired!
Sustainable housing solutions will only be possible through a mix of individual, grassroots, organizational, and government-focused action. Here are some real examples of how Jefferson County residents are already making a difference.
Stories of Impact
Jefferson County is full of stories of struggle as well as stories of hope. Here, you’ll find personal stories of those who have been impacted by our housing crisis, as well as those who are making an impact.
Affordable Housing 101
New to the topic of housing affordability? Learn the basics of how housing becomes affordable and find resources on how to learn more.
Jefferson County Housing by the Numbers
- Jefferson County is the 3rd most unaffordable county in Washington State (University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies)
- 47% of Jefferson County renters are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income on rent (American Community Survey)
- 25% of units in the County sit vacant for a large portion of the year (likely for part-time residents or vacation rentals), lowering the supply of housing and increasing costs for permanent year-round residents (2018 Jefferson County Housing Element)
- Rental vacancy rates hover between 0-1% (the national average is around 7%), so that even those with stable incomes simply cannot find available housing (Washington Department of Commerce)
- Median home prices have increased from $241,700 to $361,900 between 2015-2018 – an unbelievable jump of 49% in just three years (University of Washington’s Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies)
- The lack of housing is a major barrier to economic development throughout the County – we know of at least nine small- to medium-sized businesses that decided not to relocate to Jefferson County due to the lack of available workforce housing
- Ensuring that a younger workforce can afford to live locally is critical to the future of community institutions. Jefferson Healthcare must maintain a minimum of 20% of patients who use private insurance in order to stay in the black. Once they go above 80% of patients using Medicare and Medicaid, they will experience serious financial challenges. They are currently at 78.5% Medicare and Medicaid patients and the workforce trends are moving them closer to that line, putting the future of our hospital at stake.
Read more about how this is impacting us all at Our Community Challenge.
