Renton contracts organization to aid unhoused crisis

Published 10:30 am Wednesday, August 5, 2026

The city of Renton is contracting a social services organization to aid in the city’s housing needs as it transitions to its new homelessness approach.

At the July 27 meeting, the Renton City Council concurred with the finance committee to authorize the mayor and city clerk to execute an agreement with Alcoholics and Addicts Helping Alcoholics and Addicts (AAHAA) Supportive Housing for temporary supportive housing services.

The agreement is meant to provide temporary supportive housing accommodations for eligible individuals referred by City staff who require stable housing after completing in-patient drug treatment. The city will pay up to 12 months of housing costs and recovery support services for an individual. AAHAA Supportive Housing has 18 housing options in King and Pierce Counties to assist individuals and families.

“With this investment, when unhoused folks in Renton are ready to ask for help to change their lives, we now for the first time ever have a supportive shelter to offer them with a one-year program towards sobriety,” councilmember and finance committee chair Valerie O’Halloran said.

The agreement is not to exceed $200,000 and will be paid for by the Opioid Settlement Funds. These funds are from the settlements of lawsuits the Washington State Attorney General’s Office has pursued from pharmaceutical and distribution companies responsible for the opioid epidemic.

“Many cities out there have still not figured out how to use their opioid settlement funds that were given quite a while ago,” Alberson said. “We found, I think, an excellent way to use our opioid settlement funds. This also includes not just the temporary housing, but it starts with a 30-day treatment program.”

This contract is through Dec. 31, 2027 and is meant to be a temporary solution while the city transitions to creating their own stabilization center. According to a City Hall Fellows Memorandum of Understanding, the city has purchased property for the future behavioral health center, a combined shelter and hub for services, and it is planned to open in 2027.

The city is mimicking an approach to homelessness recently implemented by the city of Auburn, where instead of allocating more than $800,000 in existing grant funding to approximately 50 organizations providing homelessness prevention and direct services, Renton will provide services at their own behavioral health center. Additional funding generated through a taxing mechanism approved by the Renton City Council several years ago will provide further resources.

The city hired Kent Hay as the new Human Services Director, who previously held the same position in Auburn. In Auburn, the city made contact with 1,366 individuals, sheltered 472, and housed 205 in 2024. The “compassionate accountability” gives people camping without authorization in public spaces the choice of going to the new center, going to jail or going somewhere else. Additionally, the Auburn model is stricter on drug use and expects the participants to carry their weight at the facility, such as cleaning up during break times.

“We want this as a place for people to come and get services and then let us help you get you out of here. This is not your forever home,” Hay said previously. “If you start turning down housing options that are presented to you, then you don’t need to be here because we need to make space for other people who want housing.”

Hay built a similar program in Redmond in 2016 before heading to Auburn in 2020. He was inspired to create the system because he wasn’t seeing results in cities’ homelessness approach while working different criminal justice and human service jobs during the past 25 years.

“I am results-driven,” Hay said. “We pay a lot to service providers and we don’t see a lot of outcomes. Yes, there’s a lot of numbers doled out about all the things and most of that is just giving people things, but it’s not really helping people get out of this situation and stay out of the situation.”

In Auburn, passing a camping ordinance in 2021 was Hay’s first hurdle. He wanted people to understand the city was not planning to arrest their way out of homelessness, but there needs to be a consequence for those resistant to help. Outreach was focused on telling people their options and offering them shelter and resources at the facilities instead of taking blankets and food to encampments.

“Homelessness (outreach) doesn’t just mean saying ‘yes’ all the time and giving all the time,” Hay said. “Really if you are trying to treat people with compassion, and you really care about people, ‘no’ is a part of compassion. There has to be a place where we say ‘no, that’s unacceptable.’”