Community House seeks $50,000 in TBRA from Cowlitz County; group details program outcomes and audit work

Community House on Broadway presented its annual report to the Cowlitz County board and requested $50,000 in tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) to help participants move into permanent housing.

"All we've got is one request today, and it's the TBRA assistance. And it's $50,000," said the Community House representative (first referenced in the record as Speaker 7), explaining the funding would help bridge housing costs for residents ready to move into stable housing. The representative said the organization had initially considered a larger pilot for 18–25-year-olds but shelved that plan because related grant funding expires in mid-2027.

Jordan (Speaker 10), who discussed the program's data, said the TBRA tool has been used since 2022 to help households transition to permanent housing: "Since reviewing our participants in the TBRA program that we've been running since 2022, we've had 35 households participate in the program. Over the 4 year time horizon, we spent, assisted them with $97,000 in rental assistance."

Jordan and Community House representatives told commissioners the program pairs rental subsidy with wraparound services, including employment and housing specialists, and that most participants who used the tool were able to move into stable housing. Jordan reported that three of the 35 families were judged not successful in the program, which staff described as evidence of an otherwise high success rate.

Commissioners asked for clarifications about eligibility, program duration and how TBRA differs from rapid rehousing and other city programs. Staff said the subsidy is income-based and typically covers the portion of rent the program sets (about 30% of income in examples given) and that Community House usually commits assistance for one year, with reassessments and tapering thereafter. Staff confirmed the requested county funds would be set aside specifically for Community House TBRA use and not deposited into the county general fund.

County counsel (unidentified legal counsel, Speaker 12) reminded commissioners that the legal risk of funding a third-party provider depends on how closely county operations are integrated with the provider: "The closer that connection, the more infused the county is to its operations and responsibilities... the greater the risk," counsel said, recommending case-by-case legal review of indemnification, monitoring and contract language.

No formal vote on the $50,000 request was recorded in the meeting transcript. Community House asked the board to consider the request and said it could provide further program breakdowns and participant statistics if the board wanted additional detail.