Evergreen MPA Program Director Mike Craw has concluded an 18 month study on the experience of Black families in Pierce County’s homelessness coordinated entry system. Drawing on interviews with 16 Black families in Pierce County who received homelessness services in 2021, the study found that a relationship of trust and good communication between Black family clients and caseworkers at homelessness services organizations in Pierce County was a critical element to finding permanent housing. Based on this finding, the study recommends an approach to providing services that fosters trust through improved cultural competence in service delivery. Legacy homelessness service provides can accomplish this through partnerships with organizations that are embedded within Pierce County’s Black community, such as the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance.  

The project, carried out on behalf of the Tacoma/Lakewood/Pierce County Continuum of Care, began when the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development selected Pierce County as one of eight communities nationwide to participate in a demonstration project that would improve racial equity within local homelessness systems. Dr. Craw contributed to this project as part of a workgroup that included Dr. Carolyn Weisz at the University of Puget Sound; staff with the City of Tacoma, Pierce County, and local homelessness service providers; and people with lived experience with homelessness. Pierce County’s Department of Human Services plans to use the results to inform funding opportunities for homelessness services in the future. Pacific Northwest Public Broadcasting’s story on the project is at this link:  https://www.nwpb.org/2022/03/24/pilot-program-looks-at-equity-in-helping-the-homeless/ 

By Mike Craw, MPA Director