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Our Emergency Shelter
Program is a vital survival resource for thousands of
homeless people who might otherwise have nowhere else to go. In
addition to providing safe, secure shelter, hot meals, and day-time
safe haven from the streets, the shelter is a focal point for DESC’s
outreach efforts, and helps people access a wide range of programs
(both at DESC and elsewhere) that will help them stabilize their lives,
and ultimately get permanent housing.
The Emergency Shelter Program serves more than 4,000 men
and women each year. The people using our shelter are among the
poorest and most vulnerable members of our community. Many people
are coping with one or more major disabilities or life issues that
contribute to their becoming—or remaining—homeless. Among these,
mental illness and addiction to drugs or alcohol, physical or
developmental disabilities are the most common. Many people have
been chronically homeless, and lack the experiences or life
skills needed to maintain independent living.
Each night the shelter provides a place to sleep and a hot meal for up
to 278 people in three locations:
- shelter for 203 men and women in The
Morrison (including an intensively-staffed, 20-bed Crisis Respite
Program);
- shelter for 50 men in Sacred Heart Church in lower Queen
Anne; and
- a 25 bed shelter for mentally ill homeless women in one of
DESC’s supportive housing projects, Kerner-Scott House.
In
emergencies, residents of The Union Hotel and The Lyon Building have
allowed their community rooms to be used for extra shelter. In
2005, DESC shelters provided over 86,000 nights of shelter and more than 48,000 hot meals.
During the day, the main shelter at The Morrison is a
drop-in center where people can seek refuge from the streets and the
weather, and access a wide variety of services, including hygiene
facilities, mail and phone services and emergency clothing. DESC
provided 16,900 showers and processed almost 17,000 pieces of mail in
2005.
The main shelter also offers on-site medical care,
mental health counseling and chemical dependency treatment. Five
DESC mental health case managers and a chemical dependency counselor
are sited in the shelter, as are two mental health practitioners and a
registered nurse from Health Care for the Homeless. Also, in
coordination with University of Washington Family Medicine, the
Community Health Advancement Program operates a bi-weekly dermatology
clinic. The health care clients receive in the shelter goes a
long way toward preventing or postponing emergency room visits that are
so costly to the community.
Information & Referral
Information and Referral (I&R) counselors are available to
provide assistance on a wide variety of matters. Typically,
clients might seek assistance in finding housing, obtaining
identification, securing Social Security Disability Income, enrolling
in a drug-treatment program or finding a job. In 2005, the I&R
team made 1,590 of these brief contacts in addition to distributing
1,399 bus tickets to shelter clients for transportation to medical and
other appointments.
Connections
Connections is a
daytime service and referral center that addresses the needs of
homeless men and women by providing individualized support, basic
skills training and referrals to local services and housing.
Connections is open seven days a week from 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. at
505 Third Avenue.
The program aims to eliminate existing barriers that prevent homeless
men and women from securing and retaining livable wage jobs and stable,
affordable housing. Connections staff work with clients
one-on-one to create comprehensive plans to secure housing and
employment that will end their homelessness and give them hope for an
improved future.
Unlike other DESC programs, Connections serves men and women whose
homelessness is related primarily to economic conditions in their
lives--such as the need to secure and retain livable wage jobs and
stable, affordable market-rate housing. People who need
specialized services for mental health, substance abuse, or other
problems related to a disability will be referred to more appropriate
programs at DESC or other agencies.
Learn more about the services offered at Connections here.
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