4th Directive This Month From Everett Mayor Franklin Puts Focus On Street Issues

Homelessness, addiction and mental illness are the top three items in Mayor Cassie Franklin’s fourth Mayoral Directive issued since taking office at the first of the month.

In addition to increasing housing and shelter options, the directive’s initiatives include a focus on streamlining access to medication-assisted treatment for those on streets, developing partnerships to expand supportive employment opportunities for individuals in Safe Streets programs, exploring alternative-response models for the fire department, and using data to track and evaluate program effectiveness. The initiative also recognizes a need for ongoing cooperation with the City’s partners.

“This directive builds on the programs Everett has already implemented and the partnerships we’ve developed with Snohomish County and our service provider network,” said Franklin. “We will not solve these problems on our own, and we will have the greatest impact by working collaboratively.”

Under the directive, City staff will:

• Partner with Snohomish County and housing providers to advocate for and help facilitate future supportive housing projects and to expand shelter capacity.
• Diversion: Partner with providers to support, promote and expand education and employment opportunities for individuals who have experienced homelessness, substance-use disorders, and/or mental illness.
• Outreach and Enforcement: Develop a pilot program to streamline access to medication-assisted treatment for COET contacts and partner with Snohomish County through the Multi-Agency Coordination effort to expand prevention and intervention programs.
• Education and Engagement: Provide updates to the community on our progress to address street-level social issues and develop targeted educational campaigns and training in response to community needs.
• Evaluation and Funding: Improve tracking and analysis of Safe Streets programs and City spending on street-level social issues.

Each initiative includes timelines for implementation or reporting. The full directive is available on the City website: Safe Streets mayoral directive.