Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and other elected officials Wednesday celebrated the opening of a former hotel in Lacey that has been repurposed as housing for individuals who had been living in state right-of-ways, such as beneath interstate overpasses.
The Legislature allocated money to the state supplemental budget to rapidly move unhoused individuals living on land alongside state highways. Known as the Rights of Way Safety Initiative, state agencies are working with local governments to help move individuals residing on state-owned rights-of-way “with an emphasis on permanent housing solutions,” according to the state Department of Commerce.
Inslee, who has pushed to get people living in camps into housing, lauded the project in remarks before a ribbon-cutting at Maple Court, the new name of the former Lacey Days Inn, which will now be able to accommodate up to 125 people in Thurston County who are experiencing homelessness. It is being administered by the Low Income Housing Institute.
“We can’t wait another decade to build new buildings,” Inslee told those gathered, adding later: “These are 125 people who can’t wait another decade under tarps.”
The initiative is one of a slew of attempts by state and local governments in recent years to reverse what has been a yearslong crisis of people living in camps or otherwise unhoused.
Similar motel-to-shelter projects have opened with state dollars in Yakima, Spokane and Seattle.