DESC staff will provide care 24/7 in our new facilities.
People experiencing long-term homelessness are often living with disabling conditions like severe mental health challenges, chronic pain, and substance use disorders. To address people’s complex needs and end homelessness, we need comprehensive, coordinated care that meets people where they are.
That’s why DESC is proud to be opening three new resources on Third Avenue in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood in 2025. These efforts will help people in crisis, connect them to care, and provide a pathway off the streets and into permanent housing. They will also improve conditions on Third Avenue and promote public safety.
Celebrate DESC’s good work on Oct. 18, at the 16th annual Gimme Shelter fundraiser with Billy Joe Huels & The Dusty 45s, at the Century Ballroom, Seattle. The band plays Americana music that’s fun, energizing and powerful, and this event is a joyous celebration of DESC’s work.
(Graphic from Johnson v. Grants Pass, the National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC)
As we said back in April when SCOTUS heard the case, jailing someone for having no place to go is cruel and counterproductive. The perspectives we shared then drew on our long experience and evidence to show that people will accept something better for themselves if it meets their needs. We appreciate statements from jurisdictions such as Seattle indicating they do not plan to pursue incarceration of people in these circumstances.
At DESC, we know that homelessness is the result of decades of policy and budget decisions, and solving it requires our community to collectively come together to build better solutions. That is why we have been working for decades to create alternatives. For example:
Our Navigation Center removes barriers that keep people from accepting offers of help and meets our clients where they are with appropriate and effective support.
Next year, we’ll open the ORCA Center, which will provide post-overdose care, medication for opioid use disorder as appropriate and resources for people to start or continue their recovery.
We’re also building 320 new units of Permanent Supportive Housing to end homelessness for our most vulnerable community members.
There are better solutions than criminalizing homelessness. Thank you for being an important part of our community helping to solve our toughest challenges, and for standing with us as we advocate for our most vulnerable community members.
We look forward to keeping you up to date in the days, weeks, and months to come.
SEATTLE, Wash. (Feb. 7, 2024)–The Seattle Office of Housing announced funding awards for affordable housing, anti-displacement and energy efficiency at the Annual Housing Celebration at El Centro de la Raza today, and DESC Lake City is one of four rental projects to be awarded funding.
The project will provide 120 apartments with wrap-around services for adults living with disabilities and experiencing long-term homelessness. The city is awarding a total of $53.3 million for the four rental projects, which together will add 443 homes for low income families and individuals, including seniors. Thank you to SMR Architects for the rendering and display board!
Discover how our dedicated teams provide vital support to those experiencing mental health crises. Watch a recording of a virtual presentation about our Mobile Response Division, with our Executive Director Daniel Malone and our Associate Director of Mobile Response Freyton Castillo, or a short video about MRD.
Community members can call King County Crisis Connections Line (call the 24-Hr Crisis Line at 866-427-4747) if you see someone experiencing a crisis related to mental health or substance use, or if you are concerned for someone’s well-being.
In the urgent need to bring thousands of people inside from the dangerous chaos of the streets, DESC and other providers are trying new and innovative ways of building safe permanent housing faster and for less money. We have some lessons to share about our recent experiences trying to achieve this goal.
PLUS: Join us for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day!
We’re already a third of the way through the 2025 Washington State Legislative Session! As we move forward, DESC is closely tracking key policy proposals that could enhance Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) and behavioral healthcare. These services provide critical support to our most vulnerable neighbors facing mental health and substance use issues and provide real solutions to ending chronic homelessness.
It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Steven Bullock, DESC’s Deputy Director of Operations from 2018 to 2025. Steven was found at his home Monday morning, and while we are still awaiting further details, it appears he passed from natural causes.
The stark contrast between Supplemental Security Income and rent prices highlights the urgent need for affordable housing.
The green line shows HUD’s Fair Market Rents (FMR) for the past 12 years in the private rental market in the Seattle-Bellevue metro area. The teal line shows the maximum an individual can receive in a monthly SSI payment. (Data source: HUD Office of Policy Development & Research and Social Security Administration.).
A report released last week by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reveals a troubling 18.1% increase in homelessness nationwide in 2024. The data is even more alarming for Washington state, where the number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness surged by 56% (an additional 4,295 people) between 2023 and 2024.
Jaden, an eighth-grader from Burien, WA, takes a picture next to the blankets he collected the night before he and his mom Melissa donated them to DESC.
515 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 phone: 206-464-1570 fax: 206-624-4196 desc. org
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 19, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: DESC Sr. Communications Manager Jessica Schreindl, jschreindl@desc.org
DESC’s STAR Center to Open in Downtown Seattle: Providing Pathway Out of Homelessness for Vulnerable Adults
Seattle, WA – DESC is proud to announce its Stability Through Access and Resources (STAR) Center – a new model that will change how our community’s highest-needs population gets off the streets and into care. Scheduled to open by the end of March 2025, the STAR Center will serve as a behavioral health-focused non-congregate shelter program specifically for unsheltered adults facing significant mental health and substance use challenges. Funding for the STAR Center is being provided by the City of Seattle and King County and will be overseen by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
In addition to providing people shelter, the center will offer a wide range of services to help individuals meet their physical and mental health needs while assisting them in navigating a pathway to permanent housing.
