<  Back To Projects

The Kirkland Place for Families and Women

Supportive Housing

The Kirkland Place for Families and Women is a 19,000 square-foot, two-level shelter opened in 2020. The shelter provides emergency shelter for families and women for 4 to 6 months on the site of the existing Salt House Church. The facility also offers on-site case support services, full kitchen and dining room amenities, laundry services, a day center, and administrative offices. The shelter accommodates up to 10 families and beds for up to 48 women. It is the first permanent, 24-hour shelter for women and families on the Eastside of the Puget Sound region.

Helen’s Place, a shelter operated by The Sophia Way, occupies the second floor, and New Bethlehem Place, a program of Catholic Community Services, provides services for families with children on the first floor. The shelter is the result of a $10 million project funded by the state and local public agencies and private donors.

The Kirkland Place for Families and Women is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to provide a warm and safe place to rest, heal, and regroup – all under one roof. The facility allows people to come and go from the day center as they please, and affords families moments of quiet and togetherness that aren’t possible when they are shuffling between day programs and overnight shelter arrangements. Before Kirkland Place, The Sophia Way, operated an emergency shelter but it had to move between churches every few weeks or months, and women had to sleep on mats on the floor. New Bethlehem Project runs a day center in Kirkland, but it closes at 8 p.m.

Kirkland Place offers singular cubicle beds for adult women in a communal space and private spaces for families. Housing and supportive case management services are also available to keep guests safe and supported as they work to rebuild their lives and re-establish their housing.