More than 200 low-income, homeless individuals and their families will be able to move into stable housing and receive the services they need to maintain that housing thanks to an innovative partnership between the Seattle Housing Authority, the King County Housing Authority and King County.

Through a joint funding effort announced Oct. 2, King County will combine $3.3 million in local Homeless Housing and Services Fund dollars with $2.8 million in Section 8 housing subsidies from the Seattle Housing Authority and King County Housing Authority. The funding will go to support eight new projects aimed at ending the cycle of homelessness for people living throughout the county. Of the 215 new supportive housing opportunities created, more than 65 percent will be dedicated to chronically homeless individuals and families with intensive service needs and long histories of homelessness.

Included in the package is $48,000 for Hopelink, an area nonprofit agency, to create 10 units of affordable, permanent housing with support services for families in east King County.

There are also several allocations that will help provide housing around the county in addition to many targeted at downtown Seattle.

“With this innovative partnership we are not just creating housing, we are creating homes for very vulnerable individuals and families across our region,” said King County Executive Ron Sims, co-chair of the governing board of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County (CEHKC).

This is the first allocation from the King County Homeless Housing and Services Fund, created when the state Legislature passed the Homeless Housing and Assistance Act of 2005, establishing an additional $10 document recording fee dedicated to funding homeless initiatives. More funding awards will be announced later this year.

Through this combined funding effort, stable service funding is matched with affordable housing subsidies for up to five years.

“Providing housing with supportive services is the key to creating stability for homeless households,” said Bill Block, project director for CEHKC.