Coordinated Entry

Coordinated Entry is a process for individuals and families in Snohomish County who are experiencing homelessness or are at imminent risk of homelessness to access needed homelessness prevention, housing and/or other services. Coordinated Entry incorporates uniform screening and assessment, prioritization and program matching, and connections to mainstream services to help those seeking housing and services access appropriate programs more efficiently and effectively.

The Coordinated Entry system supports the purpose of Snohomish County’s Continuum of Care and its governing board, the Partnership to End Homelessness, which is to promote community wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness; promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families who are currently experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness.

ELIGIBILITY

Coordinated Entry resource navigation is available to all individuals and families in Snohomish County who are currently living in homeless shelters or places not meant for human habitation: the streets, in cars, tents or structures without plumbing or running water. Those individuals and families who are at-risk of homelessness: will be living in a shelter or place not meant for human habitation very soon without assistance, are eligible to work with a prevention navigator.

AVAILABLE SERVICES

Prevention navigators work with individuals and families who are imminently at risk of homelessness to identify a strategy for staying housed. They help households address and resolve their immediate barriers to housing stability, which can include negotiating with landlords, identifying subsequent housing options and connecting participants with mainstream services to address issues such as lack of income, employment, or health insurance.

Resource navigators work with individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness to locate and maintain housing. Because housing resources are scarce, resource navigators focus on stabilizing the majority of households through the use of short-term interventions and connections to mainstream services. Resource navigators also connect those who need long-term housing and supports to the appropriate housing programs to meet their needs.

Resource connection is offered by prevention navigators and resource navigators to assist households to access various resources, such as employment or healthcare, to improve housing stability or resolve homelessness.

CONNECTING TO COORDINATED ENTRY

Individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness and who want to connect with available homeless prevention, housing, and mainstream services may call North Sound 2-1-1 for an enrollment assessment. If eligible to work with a navigator, a referral will be made to the navigation site that is best able to meet the household’s needs. Walk-in appointments for Coordinated Entry are available with resource navigators at the Carnegie Resource Center.

While Coordinated Entry sites are open to all eligible households, specialty sites have been designated to work with specific populations and regions within the county. These sites have been selected to serve specific populations and regions because they are familiar with the resources available to that population or area.