Services for Homeless Women

• Eastside Women's Center
  The first of its kind designed exclusively to meet the needs of single women on the Eastside, the Eastside Women's Center provides a safe and welcoming environment for very low-income and homeless women seeking refuge from the streets.

The Center provides a full array of services that help women stabilize and work toward self-sufficiency. To meet immediate needs, the Center provides: meals and snacks; showers, restrooms and laundry facilities; phone, computer and Internet access.

In addition, staff members conduct one-on-one staff assessments to determine each individual’s situation and needs. These asessments are critical in helping clients access the full array of resources available on the Eastside, including employment assistance and appropriate housing options.

Transitional Housing

• YWCA Family Village
  The Family Village program provides transitional housing with on-site support services to help homeless families stabilize and become self-sufficient as they prepare to transition to independent living in permanent housing.

Family Village can house up to 20 families at a time. Families can stay up to 18 months, as long as they are actively participating in the program and working towards their self-sufficiency goals. We prioritize services to East King County residents and to victims of domestic violence.

Family Village is located in downtown Redmond, within two blocks of access to many Metro bus lines and a Park and Ride. There are grocery stores, parks, schools, a library and a post office within walking distance, and we are just seven blocks from the Family Resource Center, which houses 18 social service agencies.

Families are referred to YWCA Family Village by other emergency shelter programs. Many of the families served by this project have lived in more than one emergency shelter as they wait for a space in transitional housing to become available.

• Sound Families
  With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, St. Andrews Housing Group and the King County Housing Authority, the YWCA has four units of transitional housing in Bellevue right next to Bellevue Community College. We also have 10 new units in the Talus neighborhood of Issaquah and five brand new units in the Highland neighborhood of Issaquah (starting August of 2007).

These units are all part of "Sound Families," a Gates Foundation initiative to increase the availability of transitional housing for families in the Puget Sound region. Families receive an array of services to help make real and lasting changes in their lives.

Permanent Housing

• YWCA Family Townhomes
  These Townhomes provide longer term, permanent housing and support services to low-income families (families with incomes 35-40% of the median) graduating from transitional housing programs.

Located in the Newport Hills area of Bellevue, the Family Townhomes complex is a community of 12 three-bedroom, two-story apartment homes. Each unit includes one-and-a-half baths, a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, a laundry room with washer and dryer and a very small private backyard. The complex is located within walking distance to schools, play areas, shopping and bus transportation. Rents range from $433 to $504.

Families are referred to YWCA Townhomes from transitional housing programs. When there is a vacancy, we accept applications from transitional housing staff. We do not maintain a waiting list.

• YWCA Summerfield Apartments
  Summerfield offers 52 units of permanent housing for single adults and/or families in the Overlake area of Bellevue.

These apartments offer one- and two-bedroom units with fireplaces in some of the units. There is a new playground area with laundry facilities on-site as well as several barbecues located throughout the property. With a prime location in the East Bellevue area, Summerfield puts families near Bellevue Community College, transit routes, schools, jobs and services.

These units range from 621 to 971 square feet. Residents must be able to afford rent from $625 to $985 each month. There are 13 Section 8 based apartments available to applicants who are eligible through King County Housing Authority.

• YWCA housing at Issaquah Highlands
  In 2007, the YWCA was selected by the City of Issaquah to develop an affordable housing community in the Issaquah Highlands development. The new property will be home to working families, the disabled and seniors who are seeking an affordable place to live, to raise children, to age comfortably, to build fulfilling lives and to contribute to their community.

The development, which is expected to welcome its first residents in 2011, will include approximately 150 apartments and townhouses ranging in size from studios to three-bedrooms. It will be home to some 215 adults and up to 190 children. Residents will on average earn up to $18.75 per hour (for example, a family of four earning less than $39,000 a year).

The YWCA is also dedicating space in the development for meeting rooms open to the entire Issaquah Highlands community. Initial plans call for other space to house on-site support services for residents, the YWCA’s East King County regional offices, a child care center and additional community services.