Gov. Inslee visits Hobson Place, Gimme Shelter was a blast and the Film Festival touched us
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In this issue:
- The governor visits Hobson Place
- Gimme Shelter was a blast
- Impact Short Film Festival winner
- Evans House is 15
- A new project joins the drawing board
- News about DESC and issues we care about
October 2022
Gov. Jay Inslee, UW Pres. Ana Mari Cauce, VIPs, visit Hobson Place
We welcomed Gov. Jay Inslee, University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce and leadership from Harborview Medical Center and UW Medicine for a tour of The Clinic at Hobson Place and Hobson Place Permanent Supportive Housing on Oct. 14.
The Clinic at Hobson Place, a partnership between DESC and Harborview/UW Medicine, is the largest local full-scale health care clinic specifically designed to meet the needs of people living with complex behavioral health disabilities who have experienced the longest periods of homelessness. Members of the local community can also receive care here.
This unique facility brings comprehensive outpatient behavioral health and primary care, pharmacy services and permanent supportive housing for 177 people under one roof. In addition, the 92 new apartments in the phase 2, south housing building, are Passive House Pre-Certified (PHIUS+ 2018) for their sustainable, ultra-high energy efficient construction.
Our visitors heard about the advantages of having this full range of services just downstairs from clients’ apartments; learned about the suboxone induction room for medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder; and visited a tenant's apartment.
Harborview’s Pioneer Square Clinic and Downtown Homeless Programs Medical Director (recently retired!) Nancy Sugg, MD, led the clinic tour along with DESC's clinic manager Drew Duplantis.
VIPs also included UW Medicine Chief Medical Officer & President of UW Physicians Timothy H. Dellit, MD; Harborview Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Sommer Kleweno Walley; and UW Medicine Hospitals & Clinics President Cynthia Dold. DESC Executive Director Daniel Malone introduced the tour and was the concluding speaker.
Gimme Shelter was a blast and a success!
The 14th annual Gimme Shelter Benefit Concert to End Homelessness lit up the Triple Door on Oct. 11, and, oh, what a great time was had by all!
Billy Joe Huels and The Dusty 45s were in rare form. Just off an East Coast tour, this already tight band was on fire. The audience was treated to a fabulous evening of entertainment, eclipsed only by the generous donations of people like you--a Gimme Shelter fundraising record. Your generosity helps us provide more housing and more health care for our neighbors.
Thank you to Billy Joe and The Dusty 45s, and to our sponsors: Amerigroup, Walsh Construction, Lotus Development, Zillow, AHT Insurance and Enterprise Community Investment.
"You know, DESC is like an adoption agency. They adopt adults that no one else wants. They adopted me. They said come live in our house. Forever. We got your back, until the day you die."-G.
"Tikkun Olam" wins DESC film festival
Viewers chose "Tikkun Olam," a film by Bob Ahmed, as the grand prize winner in the second annual DESC Impact Short Film Festival, held Sept. 22-23. The Social Justice Award went to "10 Reais (10 Bucks)", directed by Gê Filho and Wagner Kampynas. "Layers," directed by Eugenia Llaguno, won the Compassion Award.
The festival screened 10 finalist films selected from over 1,500 entries from over 100 countries. The event highlights the global crisis of homelessness and the good in people as they change the lives of their neighbors who are experiencing homelessness.
You can watch the whole festival here. (Voting is closed.)
Thank you to our generous sponsors: Pyramid Communications, True Benefits, Bank of America, AHT Insurance, Lotus Development and Molina Healthcare.
"Tikkun Olam" shows how a single person can make an impact in someone's life.
Evans House celebrates 15th anniversary
With cupcakes and balloons, DESC celebrated 15 years of permanent supportive housing (PSH) at Evans House on Oct. 14.
To mark this anniversary, tenants at Evans House wanted to welcome the community--friends, families, DESC staff and neighbors--in to see their artwork, in a tenant art show/birthday party.
The apartment building was named for Richard Evans, a DESC employee who died in 1989. Formerly homeless himself, he inspired much of our core philosophy: meet people where they are and never give up on them.
When the building opened in 2007, it was one of the first PSH projects in the nation to use mainstream mental health funding to provide on-site services. DESC’s PSH is designed for people who need housing and the array of supports provided, with a goal of long-term housing stability.
Evans House remains home to more than 10 people who have been there for all 15 years. More than 70 percent of current tenants have lived at Evans House longer than five years.
DESC plans new permanent supportive housing project
We're planning a new permanent supportive housing project at 2626 15th Ave. W. in Seattle, north of our existing Interbay Place.
It will provide 105 new homes and wraparound supportive services for people living with disabilities who are experiencing homelessness.
Architects are now designing the building, with construction expected to begin in late 2023, and completion by mid-2025.
We held a community meeting about the project in September, and spoke at the Queen Anne Community Council on Oct. 12.
Do you need more information?
Contact Community Engagement Coordinator Anne Williamson.
DESC and issues we care about in the news
Enterprise Community Partners recognizes DESC Executive Director Daniel Malone as one of The Impactful 40, which also includes DESC Board Member (and Chief Seattle Club executive director) Derrick Belgarde. Read more about the honorees here.
The state of homelessness: why I feel hope amid crisis after traveling around the country. United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. USICH Executive Director Jeff Olivet has been traveling all around the country, including to Seattle. He writes about hotel to shelter/housing conversions, commitments to eliminate racist, discriminatory policies, the value of including those with lived experience and strategies for housing first.
New Tax Would Fund Behavioral Crisis Centers. PubliCola. King County Executive Dow Constantine’s proposed tax levy would “fund five behavioral health crisis centers across King County, higher wages for health care workers and the restoration of residential treatment beds that have been lost in recent years.” The levy would assess 14.5 cents per $1,000 of assessed home value, and if approved by the King County Council could be on the ballot in April 2023. DESC's Crisis Solutions Center is mentioned.
WA offers $4K bonuses to combat homeless-service worker crisis. Crosscut. State Rep. Nicole Macri, D-Seattle (who is also DESC Deputy Director for Strategy) is quoted.
2022 Point In Time count. KCRHA. An interesting infographic that does a good job of explaining the Point In Time (PIT) count and the King County Regional Homelessness Authority's (KCRHA) method of Respondent Driven Sampling.
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