(Aberdeen, WA) – The Olympic Area Agency on Aging (O3A) and Intuition Robotics have announced a new program to provide ElliQ, the AI-driven care companion robot, to older adults who are in need of additional support in Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties. ElliQ reduces loneliness among older adults who live alone or spend most of their day alone. ElliQ also promotes healthy living by proactively engaging users with a variety of features including daily check-ins and conversation, cognitive and physical activities, connecting to family and friends, and more. ElliQ enables streamlined communication between older adults on O3A long-term services and their case managers. Individuals do not need to be O3A clients to participate in the program. Anyone 60 years and older who lives in Grays Harbor or Pacific Counties may apply. Program is limited and enrollment is expected to be completed no later than the end of March.

The first of three tiny houses dedicated on Saturday, New homeownership becomes a reality thanks to a cooperative effort by Grays Harbor County, Habitat for Humanity.

     It was an emotional scene on Saturday, March 4, when Judith Cissner was handed the keys to her new tiny home in South Aberdeen. The home was the first of three tiny homes being built by Habitat for Humanity of Grays Harbor, with funding secured through the county’s Affordable Housing Pipeline in 2021. 

 Habitat for Humanity was “awarded funding for a pilot project to build three tiny homes for low-income homeownership,” said Cassie Lentz, Grays Harbor County Public Health’s Healthy Places Division Manager. “The contract is for $256,500 which is primarily for materials and a bit of their construction manager’s time since most of the labor is volunteer.”

Cissner was one of the applicants for the home and was selected by the Habit for Humanity Board. Cissner said a friend urged her to apply, which Cissner saw as a long shot at the time.

The homeowner “must make below a certain income threshold and provide some ‘sweat equity’ in building the house as well,” said Lentz, meaning Cissner spent a considerable amount of time assisting in the construction of her own home. “Habitat holds the mortgage and the owner pays 30% of their monthly income as the mortgage payment.”

Habitat for Humanity board president Tony Enzler emceed the home’s dedication and mentioned the many hours of volunteer work and numerous contributions of many others in the county it took to realize Cissner’s dream of homeownership. Enzler thanked the county for its involvement with funding the project – in attendance were Lentz, Public Health’s Kimberly Stoll-French, and Commissioner Jill Warne.

At Saturday’s dedication, Cissner was presented with several gifts from Habitat’s homeowner support committee, a gift of food from Grocery Outlet, and a quilt made by local quilters. Pastor Michelle deBeauchamp of Saron Lutheran First Presbyterian Church blessed the house, after which Cissner was handed her key. This house is the first of the three in the project, with the other two at different stages of progress, said Lentz.

Grays Harbor County Public Health Communications Director Dan Hammock Says that the cold weather Shelter in Westport has been seeing an increase in use due to no central county shelter options after the City of Aberdeen has chosen so far to not set up any options for those in need.  

The emergency cold weather shelter in Westport has been serving the county’s unsheltered for five years. Managed by Chaplains on the Harbor, this year’s shelter began with 15 beds for the unsheltered seven days a week, from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

  Some Westport citizens have noticed more traffic from the unsheltered this year because, unlike most previous years, there is no emergency cold weather shelter in the central portion of the county, forcing those seeking shelter to attempt to use the Westport location, often using the public transit system.