Shelter and Emergency Housing

Man walking in shelter with bunk beds — *DESC Housing Director Noah Fay in the West Wing Shelter*

DESC provides a range of temporary indoor accommodations — often called shelter or emergency housing — for people experiencing chronic homelessness. These safe, supportive spaces provide stability, access to services, and a place to stay while people work toward permanent housing.

In addition to providing safe, secure shelter, hot meals and day-time safe haven from the streets, these services are a focal point for DESC’s outreach efforts and vulnerability assessments, and help people access a wide range of programs (both at DESC and elsewhere) to help them stabilize their lives and get permanent housing.

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How DESC’s shelter services have evolved

Since 1979 DESC has prioritized services to marginalized and chronically homeless people by operating the lowest-barrier shelters in the region. Our Survival Services are a vital resource for thousands of people experiencing homelessness who might otherwise have nowhere else to go.

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we offer shelter to our clients. We now see emergency housing as a better alternative to the conventional model of crowded, congregate emergency shelter. DESC emergency housing is a low-barrier program that provides rooms to single adults experiencing chronic homelessness. We offer basic amenities and safe, private, dignified spaces in which people can temporarily live while they search for permanent housing.

DESC Emergency Housing sites

DESC operates two emergency housing sites under King County’s Health Through Housing program. Both were former hotels that the county purchased in order to convert them to housing:

DESC Mary Pilgrim Inn began operating as emergency housing at the end of October 2021.
The Gateway in Honor of Tenaya Wright welcomed housing guests in June 2022.

DESC Shelter sites

Kerner-Scott House at 510 Minor Avenue North (a 25-bed women’s overnight shelter at the Kerner-Scott House supportive housing project)
STAR Center located at 619 3rd Avenue
West Wing Shelter on the corner of 5th and Jefferson streets

Closed Shelters

Navigation Center — closed on March 18, 2025, with remaining clients transferred to the STAR Center.

As long as the lack of affordable housing means our clients are left outside unprotected, we’ll continue to work with the city and county to provide this critical service.