Seattle Emergency Housing Services
Philanthropy - Seattle, Washington, United States
Seattle Emergency Housing Services Employees
Seattle Emergency Housing Services Details
SEHS helps provide shelter to homeless families, along with helping them to become self-sufficient members of our community. Our mission is to provide housing and supportive services to help families with children break the cycle of homelessness and become self-sufficient members of our community.. Founded in 1972 by a group of University of Washington students who were concerned about the growing number of homeless in Seattle due to the economic recession and layoffs at the Boeing Company, SEHS was incorporated as a class project and started with four donated apartments. They put a former Vista Volunteer and UW teaching assistant in charge of managing the units in exchange for free rent. In 1975, SEHS moved to a ten apartment building in Holly Park, a low-income garden community housing project. By 1979, SEHS had emergency shelter units in three garden communities owned by Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) - - Holly Park, High Point, and Yesler Terrace. SEHS started the Transitional Housing Program in 1980, the first agency in the country to offer homeless families this model of service. SEHS consolidated all the emergency housing units in 1986 and moved to its present location in 1989 when SHA remodeled a section of Yesler Terrace for use by SEHS. The agency provides emergency shelter in furnished apartment units and transitional housing in neighborhoods throughout the Seattle area. Additionally, every family in SEHS housing is provided case management and access to additional services and resources to help them deal with problems that led them to be homeless. SEHS was the first agency to house homeless families in Washington. From the modest beginnings in four donated apartments with volunteer staff, SEHS now has 31 units of emergency shelter, 25 units of transitional housing and provided intensive case management services.
