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Pierce County, WA — Housing & Help Directory (Updated September 2026)

Mysti's News
11 hours ago
7 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

This is Mysti's working directory of housing and help resources for Pierce County, Washington (Tacoma, Puyallup, Lakewood, Puyallup, Bonney Lake and surrounding areas). Every link below was opened and every waitlist status was quoted from its source on September 19, 2026. We re-check the whole page monthly (next refresh: October 2026). Statuses change without notice — confirm directly with the agency before you count on anything.

A straight word about rent help: Mysti's helps some clients with move-in, rent, or utility costs, but only through specific funded programs, only when you meet that program's eligibility, and only while funds last. Nobody — not us, not any agency — can promise it. Work your county's Coordinated Entry, 2-1-1, housing authorities, and the local programs below at the same time as anything you do with us.

Start here — today

Housing authorities and waitlists

Apply to every list you qualify for — including neighboring counties you could realistically move to. See what is open statewide right now and the statewide programs guide for vouchers, public housing, and how portability works.

Housing Pierce County (formerly Pierce County Housing Authority; site pchawa.org returned a 404 on 2026-09-19, current official site is housingpc.org)

Website · 253-620-5400 · Serves: Pierce County (outside Tacoma city limits, i.e. areas not served by Tacoma Housing Authority)

  • CLOSED — Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) — "The Housing Choice Voucher wait list is currently closed." Register an account on the HPC applicant portal (portal.pchawa.org) and watch for a reopening announcement. (not accepting applications; check for reopening; checked 2026-09-19 · source)

  • OPEN — LIMITED — Project-Based Voucher (PBV) properties — "Waitlist Closed / Waitlist Closed / Waitlist Open – Please note that Orting Senior Housing has not yet transitioned to the online portal. To get on the waitlist please contact HPC's main office at…" Call HPC's main office at 253-620-5400 for Orting Senior Housing; other PBV properties currently closed. Of the PBV properties listed, two show 'Waitlist Closed' and one (Orting Senior Housing) shows 'Waitlist Open' with the note quoted above. (only some lists/units — read the note; checked 2026-09-19 · source)

  • CLOSED — Public Housing / Low-Income Public Housing (LIPH) — "Note – The Low-Income Public Housing waiting list is closed." Contact HPC directly; waitlist closed as of last verification. (not accepting applications; check for reopening; checked 2026-09-19)

Tacoma Housing Authority (THA)

Website · 253-207-4400 (general; see tacomahousing.org for department-specific numbers) · Serves: City of Tacoma

  • ALWAYS OPEN — Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) and THA-owned affordable properties — "Our waiting lists for housing assistance are open continuously. You can apply at any time through our new online service portal." Create an account in THA's Applicant Portal (tacomahousing.org/applicant-login) and apply to the voucher waitlist and/or THA-owned property waitlists. THA moved to continuously-open waitlists starting November 14, 2024; there is no estimated wait time given, and wait times can be long especially for smaller households. (rolling list — apply any time; checked 2026-09-19 · source)

Nonprofit housing you can apply to directly

  • Catholic Community Services of Western Washington (CCSWW) — Pierce County housing properties (incl. Nativity House men's shelter) — Homeless, low-income, and special-needs individuals and families; seniors and people with disabilities Contact CCSWW Pierce County office directly; see site for specific property/program contacts

  • Tacoma Rescue Mission (TRM) — People experiencing homelessness in Pierce County (shelter, recovery, and the Good Neighbor Village permanent-housing project in Spanaway) Contact TRM directly; Good Neighbor Village is a supportive-housing development, see gnvlife.org TRM's downtown shelter and the in-development Good Neighbor Village (permanent housing for chronically homeless residents) were confirmed via TRM's own site and Pierce County program-funding…

  • LASA (Lakewood Action Service Alliance) — Homelessness prevention and recurrence prevention in the Lakewood area Contact LASA directly via lasapierce.org Site describes homelessness-prevention casework; specific waitlist/availability not stated on the page loaded.

  • Homeward Bound in Puyallup (operates New Hope Resource Center, a daytime drop-in shelter) — People experiencing homelessness in the Puyallup area; daytime shelter, food, and supplies plus street outreach and safe parking Contact New Hope Resource Center / Homeward Bound directly Confirmed via tnhrc.org and Pierce County homeless-program funding award records (Homeward Bound Day Shelter and Street Outreach programs).

Senior housing (55+ / 62+) and housing for people with disabilities

  • New Tacoma Senior I & II · 62+ (Senior I); 55+ per some listings for Senior II (Mercy Housing Northwest) — HUD-financed tax-credit senior property

  • Mercy Rosa Franklin Place · 62+ (Mercy Housing Northwest) — New HUD-financed affordable senior community in development on the Hilltop, Tacoma Contact Mercy Housing Northwest for waitlist opening information

How to find open senior housing anywhere in Washington: step-by-step in the statewide guide.

Rent help and eviction prevention (funding-dependent)

These programs open and close as funding arrives and runs out, often within weeks. Call first, ask what is open today, and ask what documents to bring. If you have an eviction notice, contact the legal help below the same day — do not move out just because you received a notice.

  • Pierce County rental assistance / Human Services rental assistance programs (Pierce County Human Services) — Low-income tenants, including Housing Choice Voucher households needing help with tenant portion of rent/utilities Apply through Pierce County Human Services-funded providers; contact Access Pierce (253-572-4357) for referral Funding-dependent; confirm current availability with Access Pierce.

  • Access Pierce (United Way of Pierce County) · 253-572-4357 / 1-800-572-4357 (United Way of Pierce County) — Anyone needing housing-crisis help, referrals, or immediate assistance while on a waitlist Call or text 253-572-4357, or email access@uwpc.org Confirmed via Tacoma Housing Authority's own waitlist page, which lists Access Pierce as its recommended immediate-help resource.

Shelter and crisis housing

  • Pierce County Shelter Access Hub · 253-444-4563 — Anyone needing emergency shelter in Pierce County 24/7 help finding emergency shelter per Pierce County's official shelter page.

  • YWCA Pierce County · 253-383-2593 (24/7 hotline) — Survivors of domestic violence and their children; emergency shelter and individual apartment units Confirmed via YWCA Pierce County's own site.

  • Tacoma Rescue Mission — People experiencing homelessness; men's and family shelter, seasonal overnight/day shelter

Food

Utilities and energy bills

Legal help and tenant rights

Veterans

  • Pierce County Veterans Services · 253-798-7449 / 253-798-7847 / 253-798-7856 — County Veteran Service Officer appointments; confirmed via Pierce County's own site and WA Dept. of Veterans Affairs resource list.

Youth and families

Seniors and people with disabilities — services

Local directories and newsletters

Notes from our check

pchawa.org/housing returned an HTTP 404 on direct load (2026-09-19); the Pierce County Housing Authority's current live site is housingpc.org ('Housing Pierce County'). The LIPH closed-waitlist quote is sourced from a pchawa.org subpage found via search rather than a fresh direct load — reconfirm by phone (253-620-5400) before treating as current. Senior-housing entries and AAA phone number should be reconfirmed directly; not deeply verified beyond secondary listings.

How Mysti's fits in

Mysti's Adult & Family Services — Washington provides case management, housing navigation and benefit navigation, including Foundational Community Supports (FCS) supportive housing and supported employment for people on Apple Health, and Community Choice Guide services for DSHS clients. New here? Read Need help with housing? Start here, then message us through our contact page or email help@mysticares.org · (800) 524-4827. We will screen your situation and point you to the right door — with us or elsewhere.

Already a Mysti's client? Your case manager is your first call. If you cannot reach them, email help@mysticares.org with your name, county, and the best way to reach you, and use the resources on this page in the meantime — every door on this list is open to you whether or not we are the ones walking you through it.

Partners and case managers: refer through our Partners & Referrals page. Send county, contact details, Apple Health status and housing situation; please do not email medical details.

Learn while you wait

Free, self-paced courses from Mysti's: 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 — open the Free Learning Programs. A free member account is all you need.

Get Pierce County updates once a month

Want to know when a waitlist opens, a senior building starts taking applications, or a new program launches in your county? Tell us which counties and topics you care about and we will email you one short update a month — no more, and you can stop any time.

Found a broken link or a status that changed? Email help@mysticares.org and we will fix it in the next refresh. Last full check: September 19, 2026.

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