Homelessness Response Blog

 

The City of Seattle is nearly doubling its funding for homeless services in 2018 to help women find and maintain stable housing. Women are most often served in homelessness prevention, diversion and rapid rehousing programs. Over 65% of the households served by these programs are led by women.

The City of Seattle also supports emergency services for women experiencing homelessness. Seattle and Catholic Housing Services have partnered in funding the Women’s Referral Center which connects over 850 women to shelter and supportive services every year. In our city-funded emergency shelters, of which over 60% serve women and their partners or families, the Human Services Department is working to ensure that 100% of shelter beds are filled every night.

Investments in women’s emergency services

• The Women’s Referral Center – serving 867 women in 2018 – helps homeless women connect to shelter and resources throughout Seattle. It is fully funded through 2018.
• Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Building a Bridge to Housing for All commits to opening a new bridge housing village for chronically homeless women by May 31, 2018.
• 68% of city-funded emergency shelters serve women.
• HSD is partnering with women’s shelter providers to ensure that 100% of shelter beds are filled every night.
• Seattle invests $1.4 million in transitional and permanent housing programs for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
• SHARE/WHEEL – a shelter provider – will receive City-funding through June and has indicated they will raise private funds to remain open to provide overnight shelter to people experiencing homelessness.

Investments in services that benefit women

• Increased funding for programs that prevent or divert people from becoming homeless. and programs that rapidly re-house women who have become homeless.
• Seattle has more than doubled funding to homelessness prevention and diversion programs
• Seattle has increased rapid rehousing services by more than $1 million

Service	Percentage of Female Households of Total Served	2017 Funding	2018 Funding
Homelessness Prevention	65%	$1.2 million	$2.5 million
Homelessness Diversion	68%	$737,000	$1.9 million
Rapid Rehousing	72%	$2.9 million	$4.3 million

 

 

 

 

 

2018 City-funded Hygiene Services

In 2018, Seattle is investing in homeless services that help people find and maintain stable housing. More emergency shelters are including basic hygiene services like showers and laundry to reduce the burden of people experiencing homelessness having to go door-to-door to meet basic needs.

21 of 22 shelter programs include hygiene services in 2018

• Seattle increased its investment in 21/22 shelters that provide hygiene services like showers, restrooms, and laundry as well as other amenities like extended stay hours, storage, and case workers.
• These shelters will serve over 1,400 people per night in 2018.
• Enhanced shelters provide more of a “one-stop shop” approach to reduce the door-to-door burden for people already in crisis to meet their basic needs like eating breakfast, taking a shower, doing laundry, and sleeping.
• 6 managed encampments provide hygiene services for up to 300 people per night.

Seattle supports standalone restrooms, showers, and laundry for people experiencing homelessness

• 11 Day Centers offer hygiene services for drop-in clients in Seattle
  • All populations are served by these day centers. (Youth/Young Adults, Single Males/Females, Couples, Families with Children)
• 3 Low Income Housing Institute Urban Rest Stop locations offer hygiene services in Ballard, downtown Seattle and the University District
• 4 Community Centers offer showers and restrooms (Delridge, Green Lake, Miller, Rainier) to people experiencing homelessness
• 7 Community Pools offer showers and restrooms for Seattle Public School children and their families experiencing homelessness
• These 11 Community Centers and Community Pools are located throughout Seattle, in every district

Seattle supports 117 restrooms available to all members of the public

• 5 portable toilets placed near public transportation stops in neighborhoods throughout the city
• 27 public libraries throughout Seattle
• 85 city parks throughout Seattle

We applaud our partners that help provide these necessary services for people experiencing homelessness in Seattle. People need emergency services to help them recover from homelessness and find permanent housing. Seattle supports co-locating these services so that people can focus on their next step – finding a home.

Mayor Ed Murray welcomed community members to Compass at First Presbyterian, Seattle’s second 24-hour, enhanced shelter that opened today on First Hill.
The shelter has the capacity to serve 100 people, offering them a safe place to stay, meals, access to laundry and shower facilities and intensive case management. Many people living unsheltered are not willing to let go of their possessions, pets and partners to come inside for shelter. These “barriers” prevent them from coming inside. Compass at First Presbyterian provides space for guests’ belongings, and can accommodate pets and companions. In addition to providing services and staff for guests, Compass Housing Alliance has hired an on-site manager to work with community members in First Hill and ensure that the church grounds are well-maintained.

Compass Housing Alliance was awarded a $1.3 million grant through a competitive process from the City of Seattle to expand access to 24-hour shelters in Seattle. Compass, with over 100 years of experience serving vulnerable populations, found an eager partner in the Seattle First Presbyterian Church which is providing the space for this innovative shelter at 1013 8th Ave. in Seattle’s First Hill neighborhood.

Compass at First Presbyterian is an “enhanced” shelter designed to provide not only basic necessities, but also the time and resources needed for a full assessment of each individual’s needs and to create a plan to find each person a permanent home. Compass will have on-site “navigators” to help connect people to housing. Shelters that only provide beds overnight may require people to return to the street each day and spend time looking for another bed the following night. The 24-hour model removes this uncertainty and allows guests to create stability while looking for housing. The model aligns with the City of Seattle’s Pathways Home Initiative to address the crisis of homelessness.

Compass at First Presbyterian will welcome 10 guests per day beginning on September 1. Starting small allows staff members and guests time to acclimate to the new community and time to learn about one another and build supportive relationships. The first 50 guests will be former residents from Operation Nightwatch, an overnight men’s shelter, and after that, guests will be welcomed by referral only from Seattle’s Navigation Team, comprised of specially trained Seattle Police officers, outreach workers through REACH at Evergreen Treatment Services and field coordinators who engage with people living unsheltered in Seattle.