EVERETT — Eighty-one homeless people will move off the streets into new studio apartments this summer, courtesy of behavioral health-care nonprofit Compass Health.
Compass christened an apartment-style building on its Broadway campus May 21 that provides 81 units of permanent supportive housing for veterans and chronically homeless individuals.
Permanent supportive housing is an intervention that combines housing with support services and case management. Roughly a third of the new building’s ground floor is dedicated to needs such as mental health treatment, peer support, homeless outreach and housing stabilization.
The facility also includes a three-bedroom unit for people transitioning back into the community from Western State Hospital and other treatment settings.
“Evidence shows that when we first ensure community members are housed, it enables them to better access other services and adhere to the care they need,” said Tom Kozaczynski, the chief development officer for Compass Health.
Providing on-site services reduces pressure on police and first responders by helping residents avoid jail and hospital emergency rooms.
Tenants of the new building include homeless veterans eligible for a Housing Authority of Snohomish County voucher program, and homeless community members referred through the county’s Coordinated Entry process.
Twenty-four tenants had been referred to the Compass facility as of June 1, and 13 had moved in. It is expected to be filled before the end of summer.
The building completes the first of three redevelopment phases at the Compass Broadway campus.
Phase two will be an advanced facility for intensive behavioral health services to replace Compass Health’s 70-year-old Bailey Center building on Broadway. Gov. Jay Inslee has earmarked $14 million for the project in the 2021-22 capital budget.
The 82,000 square-foot building will include a 16-bed inpatient evaluation and treatment unit, allowing Compass to serve an additional 250 clients a year.
This will amount to more than 5,000 days of total care for clients with “severe and persistent behavioral disorders,” according to a company press release.
Compass estimates the new facility will provide 30,587 points of service to approximately 1,500 adults each year.
Phase three of the redevelopment project, still in the early design stages, will focus on integrating behavioral health services with a primary health-care clinic and pharmacy.
State Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, a member of Compass Health’s Campaign Executive Committee, cheered the completion of phase 1 prior to the building’s virtual grand-opening celebration.
“Permanent supportive housing is a known and proven solution for people experiencing chronic behavioral health issues in their lives,” she said. “These are our friends and neighbors who want to live in the community, and this facility will support that by providing a permanent roof over their heads as well as support services so that folks can recover and feel safe and stable.”
