Skagit First Step is funded by a county fee put on real estate transactions, and as the market has cooled, so has the funding. It costs about $90,000 to operate the facility every month. Executive Director Jonathan Kline says First Step needs approximately $270,000 to stay open until a new round of funding comes through in July. "I think it will come together. I don't know how, but we provide a key service and people realize that," says Kline. But even if that funding miraculously comes through, Skagit County has about a million dollars less to fund homeless services this year. Any money spent at First Step would likely come out of another organization's pocket. The bottom line is the closure would mean 70 more people back on the streets, and so much hard work to get off of them, lost. READ THE FULL STORY HERE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/skagit-county-low-barrier-homeless-shelter-could-close/281-5a9533dd-c4b6-4673-9ee9-8cdda2ac86b4