Olympia Mutual Aid Partners

05/22/2026

🍂What’s happening with the Jungle and how you can help 🍂

At the beginning of this month, the City of Olympia announced the beginning of a regional effort to begin working towards the closure of the Jungle. A few weeks later, the first steps towards its closure are unfolding. On Monday, May 18th, the City of Olympia announced the start of the creation of a list of the people living at the Jungle. The notice states that everyone on the list will be offered shelter or housing before the camp is closed. The catch – the list will be closed on May, 28th, only 10 days after being open and years before the Jungle is expected to be closed. After this date, no one new can be added to the list – meaning that, at this time, anyone who moves into the Jungle after the closure of the list is not guaranteed to receive an offer of shelter or housing prior to the closure of the camp.

Driven by pressure from and a lack of adequate support and resources from the Department of Commerce/State of WA and the fear of having the obligation to shelter and house more people than our community currently has the resources for prior to the camp’s closure, these first steps are far from aligning with established best practices for encampment resolution.

Additionally, the provider community was not informed prior to Monday’s announcement, nor was feedback sought from the providers working closest with the Jungle.

These steps have caused great concern across the community among those who wish to see a plan and a process that is transparent, collaborative and committed to ensuring that everyone living at the Jungle is connected with the housing, shelter and resources they need before the camp is closed.

So, what can you do to help?

Right now, advocating with local leaders and the State for a different approach is the greatest way you can help.

Ask the Department of Commerce and the State to:

🪷Support keeping the BNL open until the last tent comes down – or at least until the closure date of the Jungle is near

🪷To not set requirements for remaining on the BNL that greatly increase the chance that people who should remain on it are removed AND to not restrict access to the Jungle – people living unsheltered in our community need a place to go.

🪷To provide the resources and support needed in our community to support a plan for the Jungle that will ensure as many people as possible are connected with the shelter, housing and resources they need and that as few people as possible – if any—are displaced

Contact for the Dept. of Commerce and WA State:

Nathan Peppin -- Director of Homelessness on State Property, WA State Dept. of Commerce

[email protected]

Governor Ferguson's Office: [email protected]

Legislators: Find your legislators at leg.wa.gov

Ask the City of Olympia, Thurston County and the Regional Housing Council to:

🪷Support keeping the BNL open until the last tent comes down – or at least until the closure date of the Jungle is near.

🪷Hold the line with the Dept. of Commerce and advocate strongly for them to allow for the BNL to remain open and to not set requirements for remaining on the BNL that greatly increase the chance that people who should remain on it are removed

🪷Ensure transparency, communication, coordination and involvement of both the Jungle community and provider community, particularly those working closely with the Jungle, throughout the remainder of the development of the plan and through its implementation

Contacts for the City of Olympia:

City of Olympia City Council: [email protected]

Jay Burney, City of Oly City Manager: [email protected]

Debbie Sullivan, City of Oly Asst. Manager & Project Lead for the Jungle: [email protected]

Contacts for Thurston County:

Thurston County Commissioners: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Leonard Hernandez, Thurston County Manager: [email protected]

Contact for the Regional Housing Council:

Register to give public comment during the RHC's next meeting on May, 27th at 4:30: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0TJHJSUnTnGt6D5zHfRwWA #/registration

Submit a written comment to RHC members: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

🪷Ask everyone to slow down, to take the time to develop a comprehensive plan before continuing to take significant and impactful steps towards the closure of the Jungle and to move at the pace that will ensure as little harm as possible is caused and that the response to the Jungle is one that truly supports our community and doesn’t just make things worse in the long run.

For a more detailed account of what’s happening, what the concerns are and how you can help visit: https://www.olymap.org/post/what-s-happening-at-the-jungle-how-you-can-help

The short summary At the beginning of this month, the City of Olympia announced the beginning of a regional effort to begin working towards the closure of the Jungle. A few weeks later, the first steps towards its closure are unfolding. On Monday, May 18th, the City of Olympia announced the start of...

05/20/2026

🌿 An important update on The Jungle — and a significant concern worth raising.

Last week the City of Olympia announced they would begin the process of closing The Jungle encampment — a process expected to take 18 months to 2 years. On Monday, May 18, flyers were distributed at The Jungle stating that the City would begin creating a By Names List for residents — and that the list would close on May 28.

We have serious concerns about this approach. Here is why.

First — what is a By Names List?
A By Names List is a tool that grew out of the nationwide Built for Zero movement. It identifies individuals by name alongside their specific needs — barriers to housing, health conditions, history of homelessness — with the goal of enabling individualized case planning, service matching, and housing placement. It is considered best practice in encampment resolution.

Building a By Names List requires outreach workers going into an encampment repeatedly, building trust, and conducting individual intake conversations. Critically — it is intended to be a living, continuously updated document, not a one-time snapshot.

So what is the problem with closing the list on May 28?
A By Names List is only useful if it accurately reflects who is actually living at the encampment at the time of closure. Closing the list on May 28 — while the actual closure won't happen until late 2027 or 2028 — means the list will be significantly out of date by the time it matters most.

Homelessness is a dynamic, person-specific problem that changes from night to night and person to person. Over the next 18 to 24 months, people on the list will move, die, enter housing, be incarcerated, or simply leave The Jungle. New people will arrive — as they always have, particularly when other encampments are cleared. By the time closure begins, the list may describe a population that no longer exists in its current form, while the actual population at the site has no individualized housing plan at all.

Closing the list creates two classes of Jungle residents.
Those who were there before May 28 will theoretically have individualized housing plans. Those who arrive after May 28 will not. This is precisely the kind of situation that produces the "lost in the shuffle" outcome we have seen before — approximately 25 people fell through the cracks when Percival Creek Canyon closed in October, and 16 more Percival Creek Canyon residents were put out on the streets this past April. Many of them ended up at The Jungle.

Perhaps most significantly — this may signal a compliance exercise rather than a genuine commitment.
Best practice guidance is clear: By Names Lists should be maintained as living documents throughout the entire encampment resolution process. Closing the list well before camp closure may signal that it is being used to check a box — to demonstrate that outreach happened — rather than as a genuine tool for ensuring every Jungle resident has a real path to housing.

What should happen instead?
The By Names List should remain open, active, and continuously updated from the first outreach visit to the day the last resident is housed. New arrivals should be assessed and added. People who leave should be tracked. Housing plans should be updated as circumstances change.

The people who arrive at The Jungle after May 28 deserve the same individualized attention and housing planning as those who were there before. If the goal is truly to close The Jungle safely and compassionately — with every resident connected to housing and services — the list needs to stay open until the last tent comes down. 💛

05/07/2026

Your advocacy is needed!

What’s happening?

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has declined two separate opportunities to support closure plans for a camp located on their property along Percival Creek that would result in many, if not all, residents of the camp being connected with indoor shelter prior to the camp’s closure. In lieu of collaborating with community partners to pursue either of these opportunities, WSDOT leadership has instead decided to move forward with closing the camp on Monday, May 11th, without offering those living at the camp any alternative shelter options. There are 16 people confirmed to be living at the camp, including a family with 4 children under the age of 13 and 8 people who have disclosed that they live with disabilities.

For more details and info about this situation, check out the in-depth account and timeline of events posted on OlyMAP’s webpage using the link in this post.

How you can help:

The most immediate way you can help is by educating yourself and others in the community about the situation and by contacting WSDOT and Department of Commerce representatives to let them know that you do not support the decision to displace the people living at this camp without offering alternative shelter and that you would like to see them working with providers and other community stakeholders to pursue any available opportunities to ensure that people are connected with shelter prior to the camp’s closure. Ask those you know to do the same.

Gauger, Michael (WSDOT): [email protected]
Weiss, Reyn (WSDOT): [email protected]
Peppin, Nathan (Department of Commerce): [email protected]
Kelleher, Tedd (Department of Commerce): [email protected]

More broadly, you can help by contacting WSDOT, Department of Commerce, and your local and state representatives to let them know that you support the general practice of not displacing people prior to shelter being offered and that you do not support the displacement of people living unsheltered prior to offers of shelter being made.
*see above for contact information for WSDOT and the Department of Commerce

City of Olympia City Council & City Manager: [email protected] , [email protected]
City of Tumwater City Council: [email protected]
Thurston County Commissioners and County Manager: [email protected]
Thurston County Regional Housing Council: [email protected] *note in email that your communication is intended as public comment for the RHC

Additionally, you can help by donating funds or supplies to go towards supporting those who are facing displacement from this location. Donations of supplies can be brought to the OlyMAP office Monday-Friday from 12-3 (701 Franklin St SE Olympia, WA). Donations of funds can be made via the donation page on our website at olymap.org/donate

Summary of the situationThe Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has declined two separate opportunities to support closure plans for a camp located on their property along Percival Creek that would result in many, if not all, residents of the camp being connected with indoor shelte...

05/07/2026

📅 New Month Check-In Reminder

A new month is a great time to reset and make sure you’re staying connected to the supports you need. Here’s a quick checklist to help:

📝 Monthly Check-In Checklist
✔️ Check in with your Care Navigator
✔️ Complete your Coordinated Entry (CE) check-in
✔️ Update or submit any program or volunteer paperwork
✔️ Check in with medical or behavioral health providers
✔️ Refill or request medications if needed
✔️ Connect with your case manager or outreach worker
✔️ Check food access, food banks, or meal sites for the week
✔️ Review your housing plan or next steps
✔️ Update your contact info if it has changed
✔️ Ask about any new resources or opportunities

Small steps like these help keep things moving forward and make sure you don’t lose access to important services.

If you need support with any of these, our team is here to help.

You don’t have to navigate this alone.

05/06/2026

✨ A Little Magic Goes a Long Way ✨

We have a community member we call our “Snack Fairy” who continues to show up for our team in such a thoughtful way, donating easy meals and snacks for our staff.

Your kindness reminds us that caring for those who serve the community matters too. Thank you for checking in on our team and making sure there are smiles behind the scenes as well. We truly appreciate you. 💛

If you would like to support our staff, there are a couple of easy ways to help:
📦 Donate through our Amazon wish list: https://a.co/0eWrvJM0
🏢 Drop off items in person at:
701 Franklin St. SE, Olympia, WA
Monday–Friday, 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Please let the person accepting your donation know it is for staff.

It takes a community to care for a community, and we are so grateful to be surrounded by people like you.

05/04/2026

05/01/2026

Employment starts with access, and access often starts with something as simple, and as critical, as an ID.

In March, our Care Coordination Navigators (CCNs) supported 5 participants in obtaining their ID or Driver’s License. These documents open doors. Whether someone is applying for a job, signing a lease, accessing healthcare, or completing basic paperwork, having proper identification makes all the difference.

For many of the people we serve, getting an ID is not a simple task. It can mean navigating lost documents, transportation barriers, fees, and complex systems.

That is where our team steps in, meeting people where they are and walking alongside them through each step.

These are powerful steps toward stability, employment, and opportunity.

05/01/2026

🌸 May Day + World Laughter Day 🌸

May 1st holds deep meaning across communities. May Day has long been a day rooted in connection, community care, and honoring the dignity of people. It is a reminder that strong communities are built when we show up for one another, share resources, and create spaces where everyone belongs.

Today is also World Laughter Day, a day that highlights the healing power of joy. Laughter can build bridges, ease stress, and remind us of our shared humanity, even in difficult times.

At OlyMAP, we see both of these values every day in action, neighbors supporting neighbors, small moments of connection, and the strength that comes from community care.

So today, we invite you to:
🌼 Check in on someone in your circle
🌼 Share a resource or lend a helping hand
🌼 Take a moment to laugh, even if it is a simple joke or smile

What is something that made you laugh today? Share it below and help us spread a little more joy.

04/30/2026

We’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, and it’s starting to show. Tiny homes are being refurbished and prepared as we transition the Stability Stays Program. Each update brings us closer to creating a space that feels safe, clean, and supportive for those who need time to heal.

So what is Stability Stays?
Stability Stays is a short-term hotel-based program, soon transitioning into tiny homes, designed for individuals and households experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Thurston County who meet specific criteria.

To be considered, participants must:
• Be a current Thurston County resident
• Be 18 years or older and able to verify age
• Have an acute, serious, but non-life-threatening medical need that does not require ongoing medical supervision, but does require a safe, stable place to recover

OR
• Have a confirmed upcoming placement into shelter, treatment, or housing within about 8 weeks, and need a temporary place to stay while waiting

This program is not a general shelter option, it is intentionally designed to meet very specific needs. When those needs are met, it creates something incredibly impactful, a chance to rest, recover, and stabilize in a space that supports healing.

As these tiny homes come together, so does the vision behind them. A place where people can take a breath, focus on what’s next, and move forward with the right support around them.

We’re looking forward to sharing more updates as this transition continues.