In March, the City of Seattle and King County announced a number of publicly owned facilities were being made available for homeless shelter providers to move clients to in order to allow for social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The de-intensifying shelters provide meals, access to hygiene services, and operate 24/7. Miller Community Center, Garfield Community Center, Exhibition Hall, and Fisher Pavilion all have been made available by the City and utilized by service providers during the crisis. Last week, YouthCare selected to move their program to the Southwest Teen Life Center in West Seattle, which had also been made available by the City in April.
Loyal Heights Community Center is North Ballard has been available since April for a service provider to use for de-intensifying efforts. To date, no service provider has requested use of this site. The City will keep this facility available in the event a service provider needs space to move clients to. The Seattle Human Services Department is in frequent contact with shelter providers and has made known this facility remains available to providers.
These shelters are part of the City’s overall effort to create more safe spaces for people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis. De-intesfying efforts alone have created nearly 400 safer 24/7 spaces for shelter clients.