On April 1, 2021, Lake City Partners (LCP) began providing services at the North King County Enhanced Shelter in Shoreline. Located in the former Oaks Nursing Home located at 16357 Aurora Avenue N, the Enhanced Shelter can provide 24/7 shelter services for up to 60 individuals. The City and LCP worked in partnership with King County and King County Housing Authority (KCHA) to quickly turn the former nursing home into the enhanced shelter to help address an unmet need for a 24/7 shelter in North King County.

Background

When the Shoreline City Council adopted its 2020-2022 Council Goals, it made siting a 24/7 shelter to serve homeless single adults in north King County a priority. In early July 2020, the owner of the Oaks Nursing Home notified the City that they were planning on selling the facility. Since it was an unanticipated opportunity, the City in partnership with King County had to move quickly to secure the site.  

The Facility

Its prior use as a nursing home makes the facility particularly well-suited to provide a safe housing option. Separate rooms are the best way to protect both residents and staff from spreading Coronavirus or other airborne illness. In addition, having a shelter with individual rooms provides more dignity to individuals as they work to stabilize their health and find permanent housing. In addition, it is on a major arterial and close to a bus stop. Being presented with a facility that needed little work to make it shelter-ready was a unique opportunity to quickly provide a resource that had been missing in our community. 

Enhanced Shelter

Enhanced Shelter is a particular type of Emergency Shelter that serves guests seven days a week around the clock. It recognizes that individuals need to have safe and stable shelter to effectively address the challenges preventing long-term housing stability. Access to the shelter is based on an individual’s ability to maintain behaviors that are safe in a community setting. The Shelter also provides case management, meals, hygiene, health services, and laundry. Drug and alcohol use is not allowed in the facility. It is not what is sometimes called a “wet” shelter. Local first responders; social service agencies in Shoreline and North King County; and outreach staff employed by the program refer individuals to the facility.  

Lake City Partners

Lake City Partners operates the facility. This organization, formed out of a neighborhood taskforce beginning in 2007, has coordinated a winter shelter for the last five years. Since 2018, they have partnered with the City to provide homeless outreach services and has supported the operation of the severe weather shelter in Shoreline. LCP works with a network of more than 600 volunteers including members of the faith community, social service organizations, homeless advocates, governmental agencies, and neighbors to provide shelter and housing navigation services to help bring stability to individuals facing homelessness.  

Funding

KCHA provided the interim funding to purchase the property for use in the near-term as a 24/7 enhanced shelter. King County will provide the long-term acquisition financing and has a long-term plan to redevelop the property for permanent supportive housing. Operational funding for the enhanced shelter will come largely from King County through a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce. The City will provide additional operational funding.

The Shoreline City Council’s decision to collaborate with King County is driven, in part, by the rising number of people experiencing homelessness in Shoreline and our neighboring North King County communities. There is a demonstrated need for more shelter space, both locally and regionally. The annual “Point-In-Time” count in 2020 found 260 people experiencing homelessness in north King County, with 56 of them unsheltered.