Under state program, Kitsap plans to distribute 100,000 free masks for low-income residents

Austen Macalus
Kitsap Sun

They’re required for employees. They’re recommended for most everyone over two years old, even those who aren’t showing symptoms. And, like social distancing and handwashing, they’re another method urged by health officials to protect others and curb the spread of COVID-19.  

As face coverings become a common addition to daily life, Kitsap County is rolling out a new program to ensure cloth face masks are provided to low-income residents  with a goal of passing out more than 100,000 masks to Kitsap residents. 

That’s part of a statewide effort to distribute 3.6 million face masks, or two masks for every person below 200% of the federal poverty line in Washington state. 

Motisola McKinnon, a Competency Specialist for Command University, Workforce Development division, hangs up cloth masks. The shipyard has produced some 50,000 masks.

In Kitsap, officials are planning to distribute the masks to more than 50,000 people, funneling them through non-profits, social service agencies and other organizations working with low-income households, which must provide the masks at no charge. 

Kirsten Jewell, Kitsap’s housing and homeless manager, says efforts to ensure every person has a mask are increasingly important as more stores, restaurants and other places have mandated customers wear a face covering. 

“We want to do everything we can to support our citizens to stay safe during COVID-19 and this is one more tool we can use to do that,” she said. “We feel like we have a good way to reach as many people as possible.”

Organizations can request masks to distribute at kcowa.us/clothmaskrequest. County officials say they anticipate this as a one-time distribution.

Though the county’s emergency operations team had not yet received the state’s supply as of Wednesday, Jewell said local organizations have already requested about half of the expected stock. 

“This just demonstrates the community-wide support of taking care of every citizen during this challenging time,” she said.

Austen Macalus is the Kitsap Sun's social services reporter — covering health care, homelessness and how programs are serving those in need. He can be reached at austen.macalus@kitsapsun.com or 360-536-6423. 

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