I'm not sure how realistic it is (I know nothing whatsoever about WA), but there are lots of tech meetups happening all over the country. Weekly groups for various languages, frameworks, etc. That can be a really good place to meet people and network. You probably don't want to show up and ask for a job, but it's a great way to bounce ideas off of similarly-minded people, make friends, learn new things or hone your skills, etc.
I also think getting a job - any job, McDonalds, Walmart, whatever - is an important (even if it's miserable) step, because it's SO MUCH EASIER to get a job when you already have one. Even if it takes several bounces up the ladder, it's very difficult to go from being unemployed to being employed in a good job in the field you're interested in. I've got no degree and no have an amazing job working as a developer for one of the most difficult-to-get-hired-at places in tech. I worked (I will omit the time from 17 years old to 27 years old, because I honestly can't remember all of the jobs I had in that period, but the last year or so I was unemployed) for an office furniture dealership (through a temp agency at first), then got a tech-support job for a small software company, worked hard enough to get a little more responsibility and learned some networking/sysadmin-type stuff, learned some sql, hacked around with Python and Ruby, and got a chance to be a developer. Never looked back. I'm 30, for reference, and I've also been homeless and had to sleep on friends' couches, lived paycheck-to-paycheck or sold belongings on craigslist to pay the rent at times, etc. Hang in there. It's hard to hear, but once things work out and you "get there", you tend not to give a fuck about the path it took to get there.
See if you can get to a tech meetup, or just hang out in IRC, post on tech forums, etc. Get the best job you can, but get any job before no job. Sometimes temp agencies can be a really good way to start - I've worked for several. They're usually indoor, business-casual, 9 to 5 office jobs. Don't expect it to be interesting, of course, but some of these places will get you _a_ job right away as long as you're reasonably polite/presentable and can type fast, and it'll probably be a little bit better than the bottom-end of the retail/fast-food spectrum in terms of pay.
I also think getting a job - any job, McDonalds, Walmart, whatever - is an important (even if it's miserable) step, because it's SO MUCH EASIER to get a job when you already have one. Even if it takes several bounces up the ladder, it's very difficult to go from being unemployed to being employed in a good job in the field you're interested in. I've got no degree and no have an amazing job working as a developer for one of the most difficult-to-get-hired-at places in tech. I worked (I will omit the time from 17 years old to 27 years old, because I honestly can't remember all of the jobs I had in that period, but the last year or so I was unemployed) for an office furniture dealership (through a temp agency at first), then got a tech-support job for a small software company, worked hard enough to get a little more responsibility and learned some networking/sysadmin-type stuff, learned some sql, hacked around with Python and Ruby, and got a chance to be a developer. Never looked back. I'm 30, for reference, and I've also been homeless and had to sleep on friends' couches, lived paycheck-to-paycheck or sold belongings on craigslist to pay the rent at times, etc. Hang in there. It's hard to hear, but once things work out and you "get there", you tend not to give a fuck about the path it took to get there.
See if you can get to a tech meetup, or just hang out in IRC, post on tech forums, etc. Get the best job you can, but get any job before no job. Sometimes temp agencies can be a really good way to start - I've worked for several. They're usually indoor, business-casual, 9 to 5 office jobs. Don't expect it to be interesting, of course, but some of these places will get you _a_ job right away as long as you're reasonably polite/presentable and can type fast, and it'll probably be a little bit better than the bottom-end of the retail/fast-food spectrum in terms of pay.
Like zaphar said: Good luck and don't give up.