Central Washington County Access Center

Washington County Department of Housing Services is seeking applications from qualified nonprofit organizations and property owners to develop and operate a Central Washington County Access Center, with applications due August 31, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and a non-mandatory listening session on July 14, 2026.

Eligibility is restricted to nonprofit organizations actively serving the small business community; for-profit businesses, individual consultants, and individual proprietors are ineligible. The Access Center must be located within City of Beaverton zoning requirements, including a 1,000-foot buffer from elementary and middle schools and a 500-foot buffer from high schools, playgrounds, and childcare facilities, and must obtain local government support.

The scope encompasses facility development and operations of a coordinated entry access point serving unsheltered individuals and households. The Access Center must accommodate a minimum of 60 individuals for overnight inclement weather shelter (bonus points awarded for capacity exceeding this threshold), operate 12 hours daily, seven days a week, and provide meal provision, shower and laundry facilities, hygiene items, mail and telephone access, internet access, storage for participant belongings, and housing navigation services. The provider must maintain an 80 percent target for households with active and complete Community Connect Assessments, 95 percent compliance with hours of operation, over 300 participant check-ins weekly, and 75 percent of high utilizers receiving shelter or housing referrals or multiple monthly service transactions. All staff must complete HMIS certification within 30 days of hire and required trainings including Trauma-Informed Care, Crisis De-escalation, Motivational Interviewing, Housing First Principles, Mental Health First Aid, and Harm Reduction within 60 days.

Capital funding is structured as a forgivable loan not to exceed $5 million, distributed in milestones: 25% prior to construction, 65% upon design and permitting completion, and 10% upon project completion. Applicants must demonstrate at least 15% matching funds from other sources and maintain the property as an Access Center for a minimum of 30 years or as long as SHS funding continues. Once operational, the County will provide day rate funding up to $1,300 per day; operators must fundraise additional operational resources. The County anticipates that the property owner and operations contractor may be the same entity but does not require it. Questions are due August 17, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Evaluation criteria include program design experience, operational and development capabilities, programmatic history serving homeless populations, budget alignment with County cost models, and system integration with existing shelter services.