Opening Doors since 1979

DESC opened its doors in 1979 as an emergency shelter, a place for vulnerable adults living with behavioral health disorders and chronic homelessness to come in out of the cold for the night.

Today our mission is not merely to offer shelter, but to end the homelessness of our community's most vulnerable people, through an integrated array of clinical services and supportive housing that allows men and women to reclaim their lives and reach their highest potential. more

On June 30, 2017, DESC opened the Navigation Center, a partnership with the City of Seattle to provide a 75 bed, 24/7, low-barrier shelter project designed to accommodate the unique needs of individuals living unsheltered in our community. The purpose of the Navigation Center is to provide clients with the support they need to improve their health and move toward finding a permanent home. All clients will be offered intensive, individualized case management services focused on housing attainment. It will begin accepting clients on July 12, 2017. more

In June 2017, we successfully trained 24 service providers on the use of DESC's Vulnerability Assessment Tool (VAT) from a variety of organizations for two Continuum of Care's in Kansas City --, Johnson County CoC, and Missouri 604 Greater Kansas City Coalition. They are planning to use the VAT for all PSH placements. The VAT continues to gain interest from other communities, In addition to Canada, as they work to find the best way to assist the most vulnerable people in their communities. more

Learn more about what we do and who we serve through documentaries and video recordings chronicling a range of our clients' stories, illustrating how we touch the lives of those we serve. more

The nationwide opiate overdose crisis affects our clients at DESC. We are very pleased that our state legislature sought to address the crisis by making naloxone more widely available in Washington State. DESC developed the "Opiate Overdose Response and Naloxone Administration" procedure in June 2015, with the invaluable assistance of the Center for Opioid Safety Education, a project of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington.