A location for a permanent men's homeless shelter in Bellevue has been proposed after a rigorous selection process.
Bellevue-based Congregations for the Homeless (CFH) has been searching for a location and announced Wednesday that they are pursuing a surplus property owned by King County. The property is located at 13620 SE Eastgate Way, Bellevue.
Currently there are no permanent homeless shelters in Bellevue. CFH is looking to create permanent year-round housing for Bellevue's growing homeless population.
This past July the Bellevue City Council passed a Land Use Code Ordinance that outlines regulations for such shelters. CFH reviewed possible sites that meet the criteria and settled on the one at Eastgate Way.
“CFH reviewed over a dozen sites,” said David Bowling, CFH executive director. “From that list, we evaluated seven of the sites against a robust set of 13 criteria to ensure a shelter that works for the wider community and effectively serves men experiencing homelessness.”
Bowling said that the Eastgate Way site addresses community safety concerns while also meeting the needs of the homeless.
Since 2014 Bellevue leaders and organizations have been searching for a site for permanent year-round housing for the homeless.
“Ultimately,” said Bowling, “the challenge is to give confidence to both the city and community that this is an appropriate site we can have up and running by 2022. Time is a major factor."
Under the emergency permitting process, the shelter would only be able to operate at this location for three years.
"We have just three years to get a new permanent facility approved and built so we don’t close our doors to the men," said Bowling. "Time is of the essence to serve men from Bellevue and the greater Eastside who are experiencing homelessness.”
