Ricky Kyles takes a walk around Sebastian Place, the new facility for chronically homeless veterans in Snohomish County, on Aug. 8 in Everett. Kyles has been living there for just a week but spends a lot of time with the other residents, who gather to talk and connect. (Daniella Beccaria / For The Herald)

Ricky Kyles takes a walk around Sebastian Place, the new facility for chronically homeless veterans in Snohomish County, on Aug. 8 in Everett. Kyles has been living there for just a week but spends a lot of time with the other residents, who gather to talk and connect. (Daniella Beccaria / For The Herald)

Catholic charity quietly fights homelessness

This is part of The Daily Herald’s annual report on charity in Snohomish County. Complete list of stories

LYNNWOOD — One day earlier in August, Bobby Nelson and Gerry Olsen were having a smoke out by a shipping container in the parking lot of their new home.

Nelson, sitting in his walker, and Olsen, in a wheelchair, are two residents of Sebastian Place, a 20-unit complex for homeless veterans owned and operated by Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. It opened in August.

Both men enjoyed the sunny weather and the fact that they had a place to go at night.

“I think it’s a godsend. I was camping before this,” Olsen said.

Olsen, a former Marine, was referred to the program after he wound up in the hospital and had several toes amputated, he said.

“I can sleep a lot better. I have my own place and there’s a lock on the door,” he said.

Nelson, an Army veteran from Louisiana, had been living rough for years, at one point renting a cave from the famed “Salmon River Caveman” in northern Idaho.

Both men were considered to be chronically homeless: people who, for one reason or another, often wind up on the streets, in emergency rooms, camping in the woods or in any other kind of make-do living arrangement.

They’re exactly the sort of people Sebastian Place hopes to help.

Communities across the country have been trying to grapple with homelessness and the related problems of addiction and mental illness. The Safe Streets Plan is the city of Everett’s way of taking a multi-pronged approach to the problem. It includes more social services, more targeted law enforcement, and the capping project of building a 70-unit apartment building to house the most needy of the city’s homeless population.

CSS is the city’s main partner for both site management and social services in the project, but it’s hardly the agency’s first foray into Snohomish County. CCS, through its sister agency, Catholic Housing Services is already housing about 120 people in units at scattered locations in Everett, including 10 in the Monte Cristo building.

Since it built its first housing project in Seattle about 30 years ago, the agency now operates about 50 facilities with nearly 2,100 of units. Some are various forms of low-income housing, or are designated for people with developmental disabilities, or a mix of different types of uses, but seven of them are dedicated almost completely for people who have been homeless.

The new project in Everett would be one more example of the “housing first” model that has been increasingly brought to bear on the problem of chronic homelessness. It would be considered supportive housing, in that it will have an on-site manager 24 hours a day and social services available in the building for anyone who wants to take advantage of them.

“We would provide the case management and the day-to-day support for the residents,” said Sarah Jayne Barrett, the organization’s director of housing services for Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom Counties.

Low-barrier supportive housing is sometimes counter-intuitive, especially for future neighbors who might balk at the prospect of homeless people living in their midst.

“It’s a different model than they’re used to, so it’s hard for people to wrap their minds around,” Barrett said. “Really, people that get in housing are more likely to get sober and get mental health treatment.”

“There’s 20 years of evidence that that model works,” she said.

At Sebastian Place, Kenny Berry showed visitors around his room: a bedroom with a small closet, a main room and kitchenette, a full bathroom.

Berry, a Coast Guard veteran, had once worked at Boeing, but sustained a serious head injury in a car accident that he said put him in a coma for three days and made him unable to work.

“I woke up in the hospital and my hair — I had hair then — is shaved all the way back,” he said.

He’d been living in his car for about a year before he was able to get his room in Sebastian Place.

Sebastian Place also is low-barrier and supportive, although its residents don’t require the around-the-clock on-site support and management that future residents of the new Everett house will have.

The need for this type of housing is reinforced by this year’s annual Point in Time survey, which found more than 1,100 people living in precarious housing conditions in the county, and 471 of them without any shelter at all.

Given the nature of the need and the precarious position many residents of these projects often are in, the assumption is that the provided housing will be permanent.

“Moving out or transitioning out isn’t usually a goal. It happens sometimes,” Barrett said. “Our goal is, year to year, to have 85 percent of the folks to stay.”

For folks like Berry, Nelson and Olsen, that’s a significant amount of support they wouldn’t have been able to find elsewhere.

“I’ve been trying to save up some money,” Berry said, “and rent’s gone through the roof all of a sudden.”

“I’m blessed, I’m breathing, I’m happy,” he said.

Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.

Snohomish County Gives 2016

Snohomish County nonprofits: Where to give in 2016

Meals on Wheels is ‘a godsend’ for more than 1,100 in county

Camp Erin in Stanwood offers comfort for grieving children

Mari’s Place gives kids a reason to stay and play

Community Foundation: New name, same critical mission

Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Red Cross

Boeing employees fund helps nonprofits make a difference

Casino Road academy helps immigrants with English

Catholic charity quietly fights homelessness

Everett Museum of History seeks a forever home

United Way gives students varsity letters in community service

Edmonds nonprofit helps homeless children and families

Upcoming Snohomish County nonprofit fundraising events

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

An American Robin picks a berry from a holly tree on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Calling all birders for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count

The Audubon Society will hold its 28th annual Great Backyard… Continue reading

A view of one of the potential locations of the new Aquasox stadium on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. The site sits between Hewitt Avenue, Broadway, Pacific Avenue and the railroad. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Initial prep work for AquaSox stadium to start, with $200k price tag

The temporary agreement allows some surveying and design work as the city negotiates contracts with designers and builders.

The Joann Fabric and Crafts store at 7601 Evergreen Way, Everett, is one of three stores in Snohomish County that will close as part of the retailer’s larger plan to shutter more than half of its stores nationwide. (Aaron Kennedy / The Herald)
Joann store closure plan includes Everett, Arlington, Lynnwood locations

The retail giant filed a motion in court to close approximately 500 stores in the U.S.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Lynnwood
Lynnwood police: 1 suspect in custody, 1 at large after attempted carjacking

Beverly Elementary School went into a precautionary lockdown Thursday afternoon. Numerous officers continue to search for the second suspect.

Candidates announce campaigns for Everett city council seat

Ryan Crowther, founder of the Everett Music Initiative, will challenge incumbent Paula Rhyne for the District 2 seat.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.