The YWCA is one of the largest providers of emergency shelter and housing for homeless women and families in our region—providing 10,278 women and their families each year with ongoing housing and critical support services. We operate 522 housing units in 13 King County cities and 18 Snohomish County cities, including unincorporated parts of both counties.

Most of us know where we’ll sleep tonight. It won’t be in a parked car at the end of a dark street in Lynnwood. Or under a bridge in Downtown Seattle. Or on the couch of a different friend every night, with all of our children’s belongings stuffed in two overnight bags.

It will be safe, warm and clean, and it will be "ours."

This is not the reality for at least 10,000 people in King and Snohomish Counties. The reasons for homelessness are many and complex: domestic violence, loss of a job through illness or injury, death of a spouse, mental illness, substance abuse, and certainly the high cost of housing in our region. Of those who seek shelter, 59 percent are women and children.

The solutions are equally complex. But the YWCA believes that we can create a community where all women and children have a safe place to live. We offer the following housing and shelter services in Metro Seattle, Snohomish County, South King County and East King County:

• Emergency Housing — time-limited housing for homeless women, children or families.
• Transitional Housing — housing for women, children or families who are working toward self-sufficiency, and preparing to move into permanent housing. This is usually a 6-18 month program.
• Permanent Housing — affordable rental housing.

In addition to helping prevent families from becoming homeless, the YWCA also provides programs to meet the special needs of homeless families, including services for domestic violence victims, access to affordable health care and respite care for homeless women recovering from serious illness. We also offer employment assistance, job training, child care and other services to help clients begin working toward self-sufficiency.

Can’t find what you are looking for? Check our resources and links page for a swift connection to a variety of rent assistance programs and other housing and shelter assistance.

"The YWCA brings hope to families in our community. A little boy said it all when he showed off the apartment where he and his mother found safety from his violent father. ‘Thank you,’ he said. ‘Thank you for my bed’."

Barbara Morgan
Eastside Journal