This non-congregate, innovative shelter is finding ways to support residents with behavioral healthcare, a place to sleep, and enriching activities
One year ago, DESC opened the Stability Through Access and Resources (STAR) Center. This service-rich, non-congregate shelter was designed to support adults facing chronic homelessness and complex behavioral health challenges by connecting them to essential care, wraparound services, and a place to sleep.
Offering a crucial bridge from the streets to stability, this shelter provides on-site behavioral healthcare, housing navigation, and treatment for addiction, as well as hot meals, showers, and semi-private stays. In 2025, STAR served a total of 321 guests.
In the past year, staff have transformed STAR into much more than a shelter. By organizing groups, activities, and community programming, they have created a welcoming and engaging environment that supports guests’ well-being while fostering connection with the broader community.
Building Connection at STAR
In the first month of formal group programming at the STAR Center, staff put on a total of 77 unique activities — garnering an attendance total of 262 across all events from 60 unique participants.
The variety of programming offered at STAR includes things like welcome mixers, harm reduction & recovery, physical wellness programs, music, arts and crafts, job search support, and anger management sessions.
Practicing recreation and wellness requires support and resources that most people living outside don’t have, explained STAR Center Project Manager Taralynn Carter.
“Many of the folks we serve are so focused on survival, there is not space or time or resources left for fun or joy,” she said. “And yet, having something that you enjoy doing, and a healthy community of people to share it with, is so critical to overall wellbeing and, in turn, recovery.”
Recreational Specialist Anne Nylander played a special role in putting this programming together and has seen a difference in the shelter.
“Since we’ve started the activity programming, there is a difference in the building,” she said. “Guests continue the game of dominoes after group ends, they give each other tips about how to access helpful resources like clothing banks or low-cost gym membership, and they genuinely check in with each other to see how they’re doing in a day.”
Positive Feedback
This variety in programming offered at STAR is leading to consistently positive feedback amongst STAR clients:
“I used to look in from the outside and couldn’t imagine what it was like,” said a STAR guest. “Now, I’m here and looking out from the inside, and there are so many supportive people helping me.”
Residents who’ve participated in these shelter programs expressed strong interest in practicing skill development, transition-focused support, and connection-building.
“When responding to the question, ‘How are you?’ one resident said, “You know, I don’t get asked that very often. I really appreciate you asking me, that means a lot.”
About the STAR Center
First opened in April of 2025, STAR was created to establish and deepen service connections for people with complex behavioral health needs. An innovative approach to a non-congregate shelter, services provided at STAR include:
- Housing-focused case management
- Peer support
- Occupational therapy
- Nursing
- Behavioral health intakes
- Psych provider
- Medication management
- Recreational and therapeutic activities
- Three meals a day
With 85 beds onsite, STAR connects guests to a variety of DESC behavioral health programs, including medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) through the ORCA Center next door, and case management through SAGE, HOST, PACT, and COAT.
As of spring 2026, our work to enroll STAR guests into robust behavioral health services including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, reached a rate of 95% for current guests.
The year in numbers:
- 342 total guest stays
- 321 unique guest stays
- 77 ORCA guest stays — clients who stayed at the STAR Center while starting MOUD at the ORCA Center
- 98-day average stay
Learn more about DESC’s STAR Center here.