2014 fall cs

FROM THE DOWNTOWN EMERGENCY SERVICE CENTER

Issue 28 / fall 2014

DESC’s First Supportive Housing Community Celebrates Twenty Years!

Dignified and friendly, Clifford walks through the cheerfully colored lobby of the Downtown Emergency Service Center’s Union Hotel and sits to chat about his life there. The Union celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and Clifford has been a resident since the beginning.

Despite the “Emergency” in its name, DESC’s housing for the homeless and disabled goes beyond the shortterm fix to provide long-term stability. Thirty percent of tenants have lived at The Union longer than 10 years. Clifford is among four original residents still at home there.

Clifford has lived at the Union since it opened twenty years ago continued on page 5

Construction of Our New Community Underway in Interbay

The Interbay neighborhood has many amenities that will make it an ideal place for DESC clients to live and thrive. The immediate area offers easy access to transportation, parks, and shopping. story on page 7 A ND D ESC . O R G

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From the Executive Director I’ve been the Executive Director of DESC since 1998, and have recently decided that this will be my last year at the helm of this great organization. I’m very proud of what we have accomplished during my tenure, including the development of collaborative Bill Hobson relationships with all major crisis response systems in Seattle that serve behaviorally disabled adults.

DESC 515 THIRD AVENUE, SEATTLE, WA 98104 DESC .ORG / INFO@DESC .ORG TEL: 206-464-1570 FAX: 206-624-4196 DESC works to end the homelessness of vulnerable people, particularly those living with serious mental or addictive illnesses.

Through partnerships and an integrated array of comprehensive services, treatment and housing, we give people the opportunity to reach their highest potential. At DESC, uncommon efforts produce uncommon results that eliminate homelessness, one person at a time.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ron Wright, Chair Richard Stevenson, Vice Chair Larry Smith, Secretary Bryan Friend, Treasurer Katherine Brandt Laura Inveen

Mark Taylor

Veronica Kavanagh Clark Kimerer Mark Sidran Patti Cole-Tindall Sheryl Whitney John Hayes

It’s hard to believe that DESC opened its doors 35 years ago as an emergency shelter, housed in the ballroom of Pioneer Square’s Morrison Hotel. I remember those days when the notion of housing the chronically homeless seemed fiscally and logistically impossible.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Bill Hobson CORNERSTONE EDITOR Hannah Mandala

I am proud to be part of the dedicated team of staff, volunteers, and supporters that have worked to grow that small emergency shelter into one of the largest multi-service agency serving homeless adults in the Pacific Northwest. Today, DESC reaches nearly 7,000 men and women in need every year.

CORNERSTONE CONTRIBUTORS Hannah Mandala Megan Mayes Pat Foote SUPPORTIVE HOUSING 1811 Eastlake Lyon Building Aurora House The Morrison Canaday House Rainier House Cottage Grove Commons The Union Hotel Evans House Scattered Site Housing Kerner-Scott House

As I prepare to retire in June of next year, I can’t help but reflect upon DESC’s journey and its future that lies ahead. I’m confident of the skills, intelligence and creativity of our senior leadership team and excited to watch the organization grow and develop under their direction.

CLINIC AL SERVICES Chemical Dependency Services Crisis Respite Program Crisis Solutions Center Employment Support HOST - Outreach and Engagement PACT - Assertive Community Treatment HOME - Housing Assistance SAGE - Case Management

Sincerely,

EMERGENCY AND ENTRY SERVICES Emergency Shelter Connections Drop-in Center PIONEER THRIFT 200 Third Ave S / (206) 748-9080

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Looking for Someone With Drive

Our Pants are Down!

DESC is in need of gently used or new men’s pants.

Specifically sturdy, heavy duty pants like jeans or dark khakis. Though we can also use women’s pants, we have immediate need for adult men’s pants for our emergency closets.

Do a drive, clean out your closets and help us get our pants up to where they need to be!

Get everyone at the office excited about a holiday sock drive!

We are looking for someone who will assist with various in-kind drives that benefit our clients. Assist in developing signage, communicating with donors, cheerleading, and follow up. Examples? Our Holiday Gift Drive, Hygiene Drive, Sock Drive, Coat Drive and more!

For more info, contact Jon Gerig - Assistant Volunteer & In Kind Gifts Officer at jgerig@desc.org.

For more info, contact Don Rupp, In Kind Gifts Manager, at drupp@desc.org

Easy Ways to Help the Homeless

Want to give to DESC every time you order from Amazon?

Of course you do.

When you shop on AmazonSmile (smile. amazon.com), the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to an organization of your choice.

Every little bit helps!

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Volunteer Spotlight: Employees of Starbucks The employees of Starbucks have become an amazing community partner over the last few years.

Meanwhile, another department at Starbucks, Tax and Customs, was busy doing their own drive. They gathered and assembled over two hundred holiday gift bags for DESC clients.

Victoria Christin and Diana Sarinian led efforts that went far beyond expectations and made the holidays brighter for DESC residents.

Groups from Starbucks continue to help us build move-in kits for our existing housing, provide donations of coffee, conduct coat drives, and they’ve already pledged to provide more gift bags this winter.

Employees of Starbucks Victoria Christin, Karen Scott, and

Starbucks and their employess have proven that they care about our community at DESC, and we are so grateful for their efforts!

James Grainger accept DESC’s 2014 Breakfast of Champions Outstanding Group Award

Last year, they continued their support of our newest supportive housing facility by adopting twenty of the new apartments at Cottage Grove. Karen Scott, who also led the Starbucks team at Aurora House in 2013, was responsible for promoting the drive, gathering funds, purchasing all the items, and transporting everything to Cottage Grove.

Before move-in day, groups of Starbucks employees volunteered to make the beds, set dining tables, hang shower curtains and everything they could to make each apartment a true home for each new resident.

New residents are welcomed with a fully furnished apartment

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The Union (continued from page 1) After bouncing for years from state to state and shelter to shelter, Clifford moved into The Union on Nov. 23, 1994 – “the day after Thanksgiving,” he recalls. “I stopped moving when I got here.

Been here ever since.”

The Union is home. Red beans are cooking upstairs in his apartment, and he’ll make some rice to go with them. He’s a pretty good cook, Clifford admits with a smile, explaining that he learned his way around a kitchen during his six years with a foster mother in Louisiana . “I cook just like she cooked,” he says.

The Union at a Glance: • Dedicated May 12, 1994 • Expanded DESC’s mission to include a long-term goal of ending homelessness for vulnerable men and women • 52 apartments • Breakfast served 7am daily; lunch on Tuesdays; dinner on Wednesdays • Community meetings held monthly with residents • Scheduled outings include trips to the grocery store • Support staff on site 24/7 The Union Hotel in Pioneer Square – the first of DESC’s 10 housing facilities – provides a residence, support and a link to resources for the renters living in its 52 apartments.

The Union holds a place in the history of the Housing First movement

Charlene Chelly has been project manager since 2008, earning her way to the position after starting as a DESC residential counselor in 2002. She says The Union’s staff works to engage with residents and establish rapport; they learn the patterns of the renters’ comings and goings and check when something seems out of the ordinary.

The posted monthly rate for housing is $704. But none of the residents pays that sum, Chelly explains.

Their rent is capped at 30 percent of their income.

“Housing provides stability,” she says. But, Chelly adds, after years on the streets, some residents can’t shake the habits of homelessness right away. Even after a couple years in The Union, a tenant may feel most comfortable at night in a sleeping bag on the floor.

At least, each night, it’s the person’s own floor.

Lori, a resident since February 2013, understands.

While some crowd their apartments with personal effects, she prefers to keep hers spare. She hearkens back to her homeless days, when she moved every night and didn’t acquire more than she could carry.

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“Clothes are just more stuff to store,” she says. “I do not like clutterness. What if I have to move?”

She adds, “It takes time to transition from being on the streets. It doesn’t kick in right away.”

Lori and another resident, Maria, have become the kind of friends who laugh at the same time and finish each other’s sentences. Maria moved into The Union in 2012. “I remember the date: November 14.”

Before The Union, Maria lived 3 ½ years in a shelter. Maria says she missed her own mother’s funeral because she had to be inside the shelter at curfew. Then came a crisis: Maria’s hospitalization with a gangrenous appendix. Her case manager brought her to The Union.

People have their own issues and baggage… now I look at myself and what I’m doing.”

DESC is “a second-, third-, forth-chance agency, Chelly adds.

Seeing residents make friends is one of the many satisfactions of her challenging, multi-faceted job. But there’s a rite of passage that every time crystallizes for Chelly the importance of The Union’s work.

“Just handing somebody their apartment keys,” she says. “ ‘Welcome to The Union.’

Mara’a post-hospitalization housing was a priority for DESC, which uses a Vulnerability Assessment Tool to prioritize housing admittance for those most at risk on the streets. For Maria, having a home at The Union was a relief. “I needed to recuperate. I felt so frail.”

Today, Maria says, her doctor tells her how far she’s come.

“Give yourself a chance to adjust. You can be at peace here.”

-Maria

Maria gained more than a home and better health; she gained a friend. She and Lori go on walks and outings together. As Lori describes going to a doctor’s appointment with another resident and giving the woman a comforting kiss on the forehead, Maria jokingly pretends hurt feelings. It’s clear that Lori and Maria support each other and value their friendship. Lori says, she sets better boundaries. “I’m learning. I don’t react like I used to. I have more of a caring, understanding heart.

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Interbay Our new building in the Interbay will create ninty-seven units of affordable housing with supportive services for homeless men and women living with serious mental/addictive illnesses or other disabling conditions.

offered to the applicants assessed to be the most vulnerable, provided they meet basic eligibility requirements.

Construction of the building began in September 2014 and is expected to open in the Fall of 2015.

Fifty percent of units are set aside for longterm shelter stayers, six for people with HIV/ AIDS, and the remaining apartments will be

“That whole Interbay area is prime for development. That’s what we’re seeking out: We want to create living situations for them that are as normal as we possibly can.” - Bill Hobson DESC intends to add landscaping and trees designed to buffer sound, provide privacy from neighboring properties, and create an attractive outdoor space for residents and staff.

DESC’s Intebay site as of September 2014

Save The Date

Triple Door Seattle - Main Stage at 7pm Featuring the Dusty 45’s and special guests Tickets on sale January 2015 A ND D ESC . O R G

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opening doors to end homelessness

515 Third Avenue Seattle WA 98104

DESC Core Values for Client Services •

We choose to work with the most marginalized and vulnerable people first, not the most cooperative.

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We believe in the capacity of people to change. Even when our clients display negative behavior or experience failure at meeting their own goals over and over, we do not give up on them.

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Our goal is to help clients achieve their highest potential for independence, self-determination, and personal responsibility possible.

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We meet clients where they are currently without judgment, wherever they happen to be in their recovery.

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We provide services at a pace the client can tolerate. We both accept who they are in the moment and prepare ourselves to help them when they are ready to make changes in their lives.

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We are willing to take on new challenges when it is the right thing to do.

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We do not accept the notion that clients choose homelessness or that homelessness is a preferred condition to housing. There is no such thing as an “un-houseable” person.

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We may issue consequences for a client’s negative behavior and their access to services may be heavily conditioned after a serious situation, but we will always find a way to make sure a client maintains a connection to services at DESC .

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