Need Help With Housing in Washington? Start Here

If you are trying to find housing, avoid losing the housing you have, or figure out where to even begin — you are not alone, and you are not doing this wrong. Washington does not have one application for housing help. It has many doors. This page puts them in order.

The rule that changes outcomes: apply to every door you qualify for, at the same time, and keep your contact information current everywhere you applied.

Step 1 — Call 2-1-1 and your county's Coordinated Entry

Dial 2-1-1 (or visit wa211.org) from anywhere in Washington. Tell them you need housing help and what county you are in. They know the shelters, rental-help programs, and the Coordinated Entry access point for your county — Coordinated Entry is how most homelessness housing programs decide who gets the next opening.

Find your county's Coordinated Entry contact, housing authorities, senior housing, food, utility and legal help in our county directories: Resources by county. Each page lists the date we last checked it.

Step 2 — Apply to every open waitlist

Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), public housing, and nonprofit buildings each run their own list. Many are closed for years; some open for one week; some are always open. Check Washington housing waitlists — what is open right now, then apply to every open list you could realistically move to — not just your city. A voucher earned in one town can often move with you later.

• Keep one folder (paper or phone) with copies of everything you submit and every confirmation number.

• Update your address and phone with every list the same day it changes. Most people lose their place because a letter never reached them.

• Seniors (62+) and people with disabilities: ask specifically about senior and disabled buildings — those lists often move faster than the general voucher list.

Step 3 — If you have Apple Health, ask about FCS supportive housing

Foundational Community Supports (FCS) is a Washington Medicaid benefit. It pays for a housing specialist — not for rent. An FCS supportive-housing provider helps you search, apply, gather documents, talk with landlords, and keep the housing once you have it.

You may qualify if all of these are true:

• You have active Washington Apple Health (Medicaid).

• You are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or unstably housed — or leaving a hospital, treatment, jail, or institution.

• You have a health condition, disability, mental-health need, substance-use history, or another barrier that makes housing harder.

How you get in: an FCS provider screens you and submits the enrollment request; the state's FCS administrator confirms eligibility. Mysti's Adult & Family Services is an FCS provider. Send us a message through our contact page, email help@mysticares.org, or call (800) 524-4827. We will screen your situation and tell you the next logical step — enrollment with us, another FCS provider, or a different door that fits better. Enrollment is a state decision, so nobody can promise it in advance.

Already enrolled in FCS with another provider and want to work with Mysti's instead? Contact us the same way and we will walk you through how a provider change works.

What Mysti's can and cannot do

Once you are enrolled in a Mysti's program, depending on the program and its rules, we may help with:

• Housing search, applications, and landlord communication

• Case management and benefit navigation (Apple Health, SNAP, ABD/HEN, SSI/SSDI)

• Move-in, rent, or utility costs — only when a specific funded program covers it, you meet that program's eligibility, and funds are available

• Staying housed: check-ins, problem-solving with landlords, connecting to treatment and community supports

What we cannot do: promise a unit, a voucher, or a check. Every housing and money program in Washington — including ours — depends on eligibility and funding that changes month to month. That is exactly why Step 1 and Step 2 matter even when you are working with us.

If you are in crisis

• Immediate danger or medical emergency: call 911.

• Mental-health or substance-use crisis: call or text 988.

• Eviction notice in hand: call 2-1-1 today, and see the free legal help listed for your county in Resources by county. Do not move out just because you received a notice.

Helping someone else? (Partners, family, staff)

Case managers, hospital and clinic staff, shelter workers, probation and reentry staff, outreach teams, and family members: use our Partners & Referrals page. Tell us the person's county, how to reach them, whether they have Apple Health, and their housing situation. Please do not send medical details by email — we will collect what is needed securely after first contact.

While you wait

Take a free, self-paced course from our Free Learning Programs — Housing Search Bootcamp, Speak Up (self-advocacy), Budgeting for Stability, and short guides to SNAP, ABD/HEN, Apple Health, TANF, SSI/SSDI, and McKinney-Vento school rights. A free member account is all you need.

Areas we serve

Mysti's Adult & Family Services — Washington works with clients across the state, including Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Olympia, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Aberdeen, Kennewick, Yakima, and surrounding communities. Our county directories cover all 39 Washington counties: open your county here.

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You deserve support. Start with 2-1-1 today, apply everywhere you qualify, and reach out to us when you are ready — we will help you find the right door.