Register to join us on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m., for a free virtual groundbreaking event for our new affordable housing development, DESC Green Lake.
Continue reading “Celebrate DESC Green Lake virtual groundbreaking!”Sign up now! Billy Joe Huels and the Dusty 45s invite you to join us at 7 p.m., Oct. 27, for this long-time favorite DESC event, our 13th annual Gimme Shelter benefit concert to end homelessness.
Continue reading “Gimme Shelter is back on Oct. 27!”
The deadline to submit was Aug. 15, 2021. Submissions are now closed.
Over the past year, we learned that we can act quickly to meet big challenges. As those challenges continue, we need your support now more than ever.
We welcomed U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) to Kerner-Scott House on Feb. 22. Rep. Jayapal secured $985,000 for Safety, Health, and Hygiene Upgrades at Kerner-Scott House, and we wanted to show her how that funding will improve the 26-year-old building for our clients.
Before visiting Kerner-Scott and showing an apartment unit to the representative, we met at Canaday House to talk about DESC’s work, the pandemic’s effect on keeping people connected and Housing First.
KSH was DESC’s first purpose-built site for Housing First, offering 40 Permanent Supportive Housing units and 25 shelter beds (lowered to 12 for social distancing during the pandemic). Exterior renovations are underway. With the funding that Rep. Jayapal secured, DESC will:
People living on federal disability benefits are priced way out of the private rental market for the smallest apartments in the Seattle-Bellevue metro area, and it only gets worse every year.
With the gap between monthly Supplemental Security Income (SSI)* benefits and monthly Fair Market Rents (FMR)** wider than ever in 2023, it’s no wonder that so many people find themselves experiencing homelessness.
Continue reading “Rent for smallest apartments way out of reach of SSI recipients”
Housing First is a cornerstone of DESC philosophy because our experience, backed by research, shows it is most helpful and most cost-effective for people experiencing homelessness along with substance use disorder, mental illness, and other disabling conditions. Housing First doesn’t mean “housing only.” It means, “come inside, feel comfort, privacy, and support so you have the foundation you need to pursue your goals and reconnect to the life of the community.”
Many critics believe that housing must be earned through prior completion of treatment for substance use disorder, mental illness, or other conditions. But requiring treatment participation before housing simply prolongs suffering, allows medical and psychiatric conditions to worsen and produces more chaos on the street.
Continue reading “Housing First benefits the whole community”On Jan. 2, a valued member of our community at Canaday House was tragically and unexpectedly killed, and a person who was also a member of our community has been charged with her murder. We remain shocked and horrified by this senseless act of violence, and we extend our deepest sympathies to the victim’s family and friends.
DESC is committed to serving people in crisis. Among other things, we operate the only voluntary crisis care facility for all of King County’s 2.3 million people. Despite working with people every day who are experiencing their worst moments of despair, confusion, and pain, an incident like this is unprecedented in our 43-year history.
Continue reading “Canaday House”If you are building apartments, why not ask the experts–the tenants–how to improve them?
That’s what DESC’s Property Development Team and SMR Architects did recently, when they visited DESC’s Interbay Place to ask tenants’ opinions on everything from counter space, windows and ranges to TV and respite rooms.
Continue reading “Ask the experts–our clients!”
