Christie Burrow Weaver, the county's behavioral health coordinator and KFA 3 lead, told the Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 21 that the county's Recovery Cafe and recovery-housing efforts have grown but several homelessness-related milestones will need to be revisited because of funding constraints.

Burrow Weaver said monthly visits to the Recovery Cafe set successive records in July, August and September, with September topping 1,000 visits for the first time. Staff-run programming has expanded to include volunteer community cleanups, a veterinary clinic, arts and cooking classes, recovery coaching and outreach. Burrow Weaver said membership is free and that outreach is focusing on making that clear.

On housing, KFA 3 staff reported that the county is tracking a milestone to add 35 beds by 2026 and a final target of 75 new beds by 2027 (a combined community total of 111 beds). Burrow Weaver said 8 of the 35-bed milestone were added in the last quarter and that the county currently tracks 59 total recovery housing beds, 23 of which were added since last year. New beds filled quickly; staff said the eight added in August were occupied in about a week and other providers maintain multimonth wait lists.

Burrow Weaver also said that occupancy targets are intentionally set below 100% (an 80% target was cited for shelter bed occupancy) to allow for necessary turnover and repairs; however, the county has essentially no low-barrier, night-by-night shelter capacity and did not meet a September 2025 milestone to secure funding for a new shelter facility. With the Skagit detox facility becoming vacant early next year, staff said the county intends to prioritize bridge housing and recovery housing in that building rather than a standard low-barrier shelter. KFA 3 staff recommended pushing the shelter milestones back by at least two years and said the board will discuss that adjustment.

On court-related behavioral health measures, Burrow Weaver said therapeutic courts are an area of focus but recent low participant census and budget pressures have paused new enrollment in drug court; a milestone of 25 drug court participants by June 2026 will likely need reconsideration. She also said the jail now offers medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and medications for alcohol use disorder to eligible inmates, and that all eligible inmates are offered—but not required to take—those treatments. Staff reported data collection on those metrics remains difficult because of recent provider and electronic-record changes at the jail.

Why this matters: Commissioners said they supported the county's focus on bridge housing and recovery supports as ways to reduce overdose risk and support other vulnerable populations. Staff cautioned that funding constraints and program-launch timelines will affect capacity and that the county will revisit milestones and targets at the next KFA 3 briefing.

The county will return with revised timelines and milestones for shelter and drug-court participation goals and provide updated Q3 data when available.