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

Mysti's News
11 hours ago
6 min read

Updated: 5 hours ago

This is Mysti's working directory of housing and help resources for San Juan County, Washington (Friday Harbor, Eastsound (Orcas), Lopez Village 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 Authority of Skagit County (HASC) — also administers Section 8 for San Juan County

Website · Serves: Skagit and San Juan Counties (per HASC's own site, which lists 'Skagit and San Juan Co' Housing Choice Voucher payment standards)

  • STATUS NOT POSTED ONLINE — Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) — Skagit and San Juan Counties Apply in person at HASC's Burlington office, Monday-Friday 9am-4pm, or via the Section 8 waitlist application PDF on skagitcountyha.org. HASC's homepage invites applications but does not state a specific open/closed status for the Section 8 waitlist covering San Juan County on the pages loaded; a related page… (call or check the site to confirm; checked 2026-09-19 · source)

Nonprofit housing you can apply to directly

  • San Juan Community Home Trust — Low- to moderate-income residents of San Juan Island; permanently affordable homeownership and rental housing Contact the Home Trust directly; current major project is 'Lee's Landing,' up to 40 affordable rental homes in Friday Harbor, expected completion by 2028 107 locals housed and 49 permanently affordable houses built to date per the Home Trust's own site (checked 2026-09-19); Lee's Landing is in development, not yet available.

  • OPAL Community Land Trust (Orcas Island) — Lower-income Orcas Island residents seeking permanently affordable homeownership (and some rental units in development) Quote: 'Applicants must be creditworthy and have lived in San Juan County for three years (not the last three consecutive years), unless there is no waiting list.' Contact OPAL directly for current waitlist status. Apply / availability

  • Lopez Community Land Trust (LCLT) — Lopez Island residents; permanently affordable homeownership cooperatives (56 cooperatively owned homes and 8 more per LCLT's own 'About' page) and some agricultural land access See the 'opportunities and eligibility' tab on lopezclt.org/affordable-housing/ to self-determine eligibility Apply / availability

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

  • Resource

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.

  • San Juan County Home Fund — Households and developers in San Juan County; funds development/preservation of affordable rental and ownership housing, plus some emergency rental assistance (e.g., a grant to the Sobel Family Resource Center for… Contact Home Fund or the relevant island Family Resource Center Funding-dependent, grant-based; see sjchomefund.com for current project list.

Shelter and crisis housing

  • Family Resource Centers (San Juan, Orcas, Lopez Islands) — Islanders needing daytime services, family/financial assistance, and homeless outreach/prevention Per the WA House Democrats community-resources page: 'United Way of San Juan County supports resource centers providing daytime services and family/financial assistance services on each of the three…

Food

  • Friday Harbor Food Bank · 360-378-9880 (per gethelpwa.com; not independently dialed) — Open Wed 11:30am-2pm, Thurs online-order pickup 12-2pm, Sat 11:30am-2pm, per the food bank's own site.

  • Orcas Island Food Bank

  • Lopez Island Food Share Food Pantry (via Lopez Island Family Resource Center)

Utilities and energy bills

Legal help and tenant rights

Veterans

Youth and families

Seniors and people with disabilities — services

Local directories and newsletters

Notes from our check

It has been excluded from this directory. Section 8 for San Juan County, WA is instead administered by the Housing Authority of Skagit County (confirmed via HASC's own site listing 'Skagit and San Juan Co' payment standards, and via a DSHS PDF titled 'Skagit, Island, San Juan Housing Resources' naming HASC as also serving San Juan County). No dedicated 'Housing Authority of Island County... for San Juan' or standalone San Juan PHA exists — San Juan County relies on HASC for vouchers and on three separate community land trusts (Home Trust on San Juan Island, OPAL on Orcas, Lopez CLT on Lopez) for permanently affordable homeownership/rental.

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 San Juan 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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