Housing Hope was born in the 1980s, when Snohomish County began seeing new faces of homelessness.
Shelters set up for single adults couldn’t help whole families. As housing costs rose, parents and children were increasingly in dire need. Families started turning up at area churches.
The agency that now provides affordable housing throughout Snohomish County started with a small group formed by the North Snohomish County Council of Churches. Housing Hope’s founders had compassion and a vision for creating new kinds of shelters.
Zeal wasn’t quite enough for the group founded in 1987.
“We needed more expertise in real estate,” said Ed Petersen, executive director of Housing Hope.
The five founding board members came from different faith communities, he said. “We needed board members six, seven and eight to teach us the know-how of development.”
Wayne Blakely was one of those three, along with Nik Halladay and Ron Wilmot.
Blakely joined the Housing Hope board in 1989 and served until 1995.
“During those years, he came to dozens and dozens of 7 a.m. meetings,” Petersen said. “We were an organization with no money and no track record. Wayne had patience, technical knowledge and a commitment to us. He guided us.”
The 65-year-old Blakely died Feb. 23. When Housing Hope donors gather at Everett’s Comcast Arena tonight for the group’s annual Stone Soup fundraiser, the Everett man will be remembered for his significant contributions to the organization.
“Wayne had this deep commitment and passion for the needs, combined with real estate savvy and creativity. He new how to talk to sellers, and make them feel good about selling their property for this purpose,” Petersen said. “He knew how to craft the whole process. Project by project, we did it. We gained confidence of funders, lenders and donors.”
Blakely was a member of Everett’s Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, and Petersen said he was strongly influenced by faith and family. He is survived by his wife, Janie, and sons Ryan and Christopher.
In 1996, Blakely and fellow Windermere real estate agents and brokers provided $60,000 for a major renovation of Housing Hope’s emergency shelter. The renovated 104-year-old house at Everett’s Norton Avenue and 35th Street is now called Windermere-Crossroads Apartments.
Housing Hope has now completed 52 projects, Petersen said. Among projects Blakely helped with are another home on Norton Avenue; the Harrison Transitional Facility of nine units in Everett; Kennedy Court with eight Everett apartments; an Arlington triplex; and the Commerce Building on Hewitt Avenue in downtown Everett, with 48 apartments.
On April 26, a memorial ceremony was held for Blakely at Housing Hope’s office on Evergreen Way in Everett. There, on the second floor of the agency’s offices, is the newly named Wayne Blakely Housing Development Center. A plaque was unveiled, honoring Blakely’s years of service.
Today, Housing Hope offers four types of housing: emergency shelter for homeless families, transitional family housing for up to two years; below-market rentals and homeownership programs. The agency still has ties to churches but is largely supported by government funding, fundraising and earned income, Petersen said.
“We have 280 housing units in 17 locations, plus 214 families who have built homes through our sweat-equity program,” he said. There are homes in Gold Bar, Granite Falls, Arlington, the Seven Lakes area and on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Still, the need is huge. There are more than 800 homeless families on a waiting list handled by Volunteers of America. “We take names from the list,” Petersen said. “It’s very dire, with the economy and unemployment.”
Since February, Petersen said, about $15,000 has been donated to Housing Hope in Blakely’s memory. “It’s a statement, isn’t it?” he said. “People appreciate what he did and the way he lived.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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