Our featured local resource for this edition of Get to Know a Local Resource is Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington. Jeanne Dinehart, Resident Services Coordinator at Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington took the time to fill out our questionnaire so you could get a chance to learn their story.
For those new to the community, give us a 30 second elevator speech about your organization.
Catholic Housing Services (CHS) believes every person has the right to a safe, affordable place to call home.
CHS provides a continuum of care for some of Western Washington's most vulnerable populations. CHS housing programs serve low-income individuals, families, seniors, and persons with special physical and mental needs offering resident support services in addition to a clean and safe place to live.
We work in partnership with local, state and federal government agencies, public funders and private lenders, and dedicated staff and volunteers. Together, CHS provides a full spectrum of housing with 22 shelters, 17 transitional housing facilities and 45 permanent housing properties in Western Washington.
Established in 1979, Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington, (CHS, formerly known as the Archdiocesan Housing Authority) develops, owns and manages affordable housing programs for low-income families and individuals. We provide supportive services for people who have experienced homelessness, low income seniors, farm worker families, and those who have special physical and mental needs.
As you can tell from our website, we love data. Share with us three interesting data points that highlight your work.
- CHS has three buildings totaling 162 units of housing here in Bellingham; The Mt. Baker Apartments, Kateri Court and the Washington Grocery Building. All three buildings offer safe, affordable housing in the heart of downtown.
- Over 50% of all CHS residents work full-time.
- We own or manage more than 1,900 housing units at 44 properties throughout Western Washington.
Though we love data, we still have heart. Tell us about an experience that has made your work worthwhile.
It's worthwhile to see people who have come from homelessness help their neighbors with everything from food, furniture, children’s toy drive, rides, chores and more… These residents take care of each other and contribute to the community. They are an inspiration!
Community health issues cross a number of sectors and agencies. Tell us about your organization's role in the complex web of community health.
Through our Resident Services Program, we refer people to area agencies to assist with medical, counseling, drug and alcohol issues, dental and other needs as they arise. We always keep a watchful eye out for those in need.
Dream big; if your organization received a sizable grant, what would you do with it?
I would hope it would be used to expand our resident services to include a full-time staff person. Many of the residents of the 162 units here struggle with activities of daily life. It would be wonderful to offer services before a crisis develops.
Give us your pitch! What are ways for a person to get involved with your organization?
We could use a dependable, long-term office volunteer. Of course, grants and donations would enable us to offer rent assistance to those most in need, stock our food bank and maybe even provide for a full-time resident services position.
Any final words for our readers?
Catholic Housing Services welcomes qualified tenants without regard to religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, gender, marital status, parental status, Section 8 program participation, sexual orientation or disability.
Now that you've learned a little about Catholic Housing Services of Western Washington head on over to their
Local Resource Listing for information on how you can get involved.
If you would like to have your organization featured in a Get to Know a Resource article, fill out our short Questionnaire!
