Another Positive Development For Everett Community Streets Initiative

One of the recommendations of the Everett Community Street Initiative Task Force was for a place where people released from jail would be able to immediately get services and assistance before going back out onto the streets. Snohomish County just announced that the State has approved funding to remodel the Carnegie Library just west of the jail into a Rapid Recidivism Reduction Center to help with just that task. Here’s more information…

The Washington State Capital Budget for the 2015-2017 biennium includes two separate appropriations to renovate the historic Carnegie Library, which will become home to the new Snohomish County Rapid Recidivism Reduction Center. The first appropriation is for $1,000,000 in Local and Community Projects funds to make improvements to the Carnegie Library facility, which will house the Center. The second appropriation is a Washington Heritage Grant for $344,000 to conduct additional exterior renovation.

The Rapid Recidivism Reduction Center will offer a community diversion option for low-level offenders with addictions and/or mental illness. The Center will address the growing number of inmates with addictions and/or mental illness by providing a facility adjacent to the jail that offers counseling; help enrolling in health plans; and referral to employment, housing, and other assistance. Inmates who are homeless will also have access to housing in the community and/or, in time, limited housing offered onsite. The Rapid Recidivism Reduction model is based on research conducted on similar facilities in New York, San Antonio, and Los Angeles. It’s anticipated that it will reduce recidivism and avoidable acute healthcare costs while helping the inmates served receive the treatment they need to move toward long-term self-sufficiency.

As Snohomish County’s priority budget request, many legislators throughout the county expressed support for the project. However, Rep. June Robinson and Sen. John McCoy championed the funding request in their respective chambers. As Chair of the House Capital Budget, Rep. Hans Dunshee also played an instrumental role.