Lewis County extends search for night-by-night shelter provider

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Board of County Commissioners has granted a two-week extension for submissions to a Request for Proposals (RFP) related to a future shelter program. The RFP, which seeks a provider to collaboratively design a permanent night-by-night shelter program with county staff, technical consultants, and citizen advisory committee members, now allows proposals to be submitted until 4 p.m. April 11, 2023. The purpose of the extension is to encourage full and fair competition amongst applicants in the interests of obtaining the highest quality responses.

“This is something we need to do right,” Lewis County Commission Chair Sean Swope said. “I voiced at the outset of this process that the application deadline would be short for some potential service providers.”

The original RFP included language informing providers that the deadline for submissions might be extended.

A successful proposal would not merely use the shelter for emergency housing, but also as an entrance and propulsion point into the pipeline for housing and supportive services, to help clients step up into more permanent housing and improved, more self-sufficient lives.

Applicants are asked to describe their vision of the facility and its budget, as well as how that vision satisfies a number of factors identified by the community for how such a shelter should operate. The proposals will serve as a springboard for the collaborative design process, which will produce the ultimate program the provider will operate.

“This is an important step in obtaining a shelter that is workable, effective, and responsive our local concerns,” said Eric Eisenberg, a county staff member involved with the effort. “This shelter will be the first step on the ladder to housing—it needs to be well-designed, in partnership with a provider who can both house people when they are most vulnerable and empower them to succeed in finding housing.”

Copies of the RFP and supporting materials are available at https://lewiscountywa.gov/offices/commissioners/bocc-legal-notices/