Unique vaccine program offers hope going forward

DESC Director of Nursing Alix Van Hollebeke had a nice surprise this week: DESC's order of 400 doses of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine had arrived.

DESC's team immediately began setting up clinics for clients. At the Red Lion on April 1, they vaccinated 86 people, and were vaccinating clients at Exhibition Hall on April 2.

The two temporary shelters are "settings where people who are experiencing homelessness live and receive services," language from the vaccine eligibility criteria.

Alix Van Hollebeke, ready for vaccinations.

DESC is also sheltering people who are over 60, and people with multiple co-morbidities, underlying conditions and disabilities, qualifications for receiving the vaccine.

"It's really exciting," Alix says. "I feel much better about their safety, and everyone's safety." 

"We have to be creative and proactive to bring services like this to people," says DESC Executive Director Daniel Malone.

Enjoy a good cause and a Lunch Date on April 6 

Have you bought your ticket for our virtual Lunch Date fundraiser at noon, this Tuesday, April 6? 

If you have, be sure to check your email (including your junk mail or spam folder) for a message from Remo, the app we'll be using that day. Follow the directions in the Remo email and register with the app before the event, as it takes a couple of minutes to complete. 

If you haven't yet registered, you're in luck! Follow this link to buy a ticket, for $35. Then watch your email for the Remo message, follow those directions and give yourself a moment or two to register with the app. 

On Tuesday, April 6, at noon, grab your brown bag and log in. Hear how DESC is tackling the COVID challenge, learn how Certified Peer Counselors help our clients, chat with friends at virtual tables, have fun and help DESC defeat homelessness! 

Thank you to our sponsors:
Advocate Level
Walsh Construction Co.
Leader Level
​AHT Insurance
JP Morgan Chase
Lotus Development Partners
Runberg Architecture Group

Thanks to the outpouring of support from you, FareStart, Operation Sack Lunch, Northwest Harvest and Food Lifeline, every client in our care has received three meals a day during COVID.

One year later: following up on COVID 

Efforts pay off in lower COVID rate than in county 

Our quick implementation of distancing and PPE protocols continues to pay off.  From April 2020 through now, among the thousands of people DESC serves, we know of 193 clients who tested positive with COVID-19 and 63 staff members, a lower COVID rate than King County’s as a whole.  

Some people turned out to have been COVID-positive the one time we saw them, and some when we helped them through crisis outreach. Others were enrolled clients. Those cases were the most worrisome, because that’s where an outbreak could happen, says DESC Executive Director Daniel Malone. 

“I’m really proud that due to our efforts and protocols, we have had only a couple of really limited outbreaks,” Daniel says.  

We can act quickly and we can act big 

Having long been dissatisfied with our most crowded congregate shelter settings, we learned in the pandemic that changing to a setting with individual rooms can be done quickly and works much better. 

“The congregate shelter model is not appropriate for the people with complex needs that we serve,” Daniel says. “When there is a new kind of pressure or threat, we as a society and community can do things we never thought possible. We can act quickly and act big.” 

Help us provide the keys to health

Over 10,000 people will walk through The Hobson Clinic doors each year. Help us provide a gateway that celebrates DESC’s commitment to the vulnerable population that is experiencing homelessness. Purchase a tile for our first donor wall! 

This glass tiled mosaic wall, designed by muralist Sarah Robbins, will feature a compliment of keys, suggesting DESC’s logo and the fact that mental and physical health are key to everyone’s success. This is a permanent installation, built with the rigors of high traffic in mind.  

DESC and Harborview Medical Center are partnering in the project, which will be a full-scale health care clinic with permanent supportive housing in the North Rainier neighborhood.  

All donations are tax-deductible and will be used to fund startup and operation costs for the Clinic at Hobson Place.

Each donation of $100 or more will entitle the donor to a 1” x 3” tile to be etched and permanently installed in the “Keys to Health” mosaic wall, which will be located at the main entrance to the Hobson Clinic. We expect the clinic to be completed in early 2022.

Giving levels:

$100 Tile Club

• Your name permanently etched on a glass tile in the mosaic
• Progress report
• Postcard of finished wall

 $250 Pewter Key Club

• Your name or dedication etched on an area represented by a pewter key in the mosaic
• An invitation to our unveiling party
•  All benefits of the Tile Club Level

 $500 Silver Club

• Your name or dedication etched on an area represented by a silver key
• You will receive a duplicate of your tile, etched in your name as it is on the wall
• All benefits of the Pewter Key Club Level

$1000 Gold Key Club

• Your name or dedication etched on the exclusive Gold Key in the middle of the installation
• A special photo of your contribution will be sent to you.
• All benefits of the Silver Key Club

Visit this link to purchase your tile or to donate.

DESC in the News 

About 62 people attended a virtual informational meeting on March 23 for the citizens of Burien, on our proposed DESC Burien project. You can watch the whole presentation here on the B-Town blog.