Olympia's homeless response coordinator resigns, leaving city to spread out duties
The city of Olympia’s first homeless response coordinator recently resigned, city officials confirm. But, with the COVID-19 public health crisis creating economic uncertainty, it’s not clear if or when a new coordinator will be hired in his place.
Colin DeForrest’s last day working for the city of Olympia was April 10, according to city spokesperson Kellie Purce Braseth. The city hired DeForrest in April 2018, just a few months before it declared a public health emergency due to an increase in visible homelessness.
“Colin was here at the beginning,” Interim Assistant City Manager Keith Stahley told The Olympian in a phone interview. “... He’s been off and running ever since.”
As homeless response coordinator, DeForrest’s fingerprints are on all of the city’s efforts to address the crisis in the last two years. But the downtown mitigation site and Plum Street Village are the two Stahley thinks will have the most lasting impact.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/olympias-homeless-response-coordinator-resigns-leaving-city-to-spread-out-duties/ar-BB13gXEn
