Compass Health adds beds for vets and homeless people in Everett


Compass Health adds beds for veterinarians and homeless people in Everett

EVERETT – Eighty-one homeless people will be moving off the streets to new studio apartments this summer, courtesy of nonprofit nonprofit Compass Health.
On May 21, Compass christened an apartment-style building on the Broadway campus that provides 81 units of permanent supportive housing for veterans and the chronically homeless.
Permanent supportive living is an intervention that combines living with support services and case management. About a third of the new building’s first floor is devoted to needs such as psychiatric treatment, peer support, homeless help and home security.
The facility also includes a three bedroom unit for people returning to the community from Western State Hospital and other treatment facilities.
“There is evidence that ensuring that community members are housed first will allow them to better access other services and provide required care,” said Tom Kozaczynski, Compass Health’s chief development officer.
Providing on-site services reduces pressure on police and first responders by helping residents avoid prison and hospital emergency rooms.
Tenants to the new building include homeless veterans eligible for a Snohomish County Housing Authority voucher program and homeless community members referenced through the county’s coordinated immigration process.
By June 1, 24 tenants had been referred to the Compass facility, 13 had moved in. They are expected to be available before the end of summer.
The building completes the first of three phases of renovation on the Compass Broadway campus.
Phase two will be an advanced behavioral health services facility to replace Compass Health’s 70-year-old Bailey Center building on Broadway. Governor Jay Inslee has earmarked $ 14 million in the 2021-22 capital budget for the project.
The 82,000 square meter building will include an inpatient examination and treatment unit with 16 beds that will enable Compass to serve an additional 250 customers per year.
This corresponds to a total supply of more than 5,000 days for customers with “severe and persistent behavior disorders,” according to a company press release.
Compass estimates the new facility will provide 30,587 service points for approximately 1,500 adults each year.
Phase three of the redevelopment project, which is still in the early design phase, will focus on integrating behavioral health services with a primary health clinic and pharmacy.
State Senator June Robinson, D-Everett, a Compass Health Campaign Executive Committee member, hailed the completion of Phase 1 ahead of the building’s virtual opening ceremony.
“Permanent support living is a well-known and proven solution for people with chronic behavioral problems in their life,” she said. “These are our friends and neighbors who want to live in the community and this facility will support that by providing a permanent roof over their heads and support services so people can relax and feel safe and stable.”

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