In recent weeks, two of the Health Through Housing (HTH) initiative’s newest locations started welcoming residents. Sacred Medicine House in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood and Bloomside in the City of Burien have begun to move residents into their new homes. These locations are two of five operations-only HTH sites that are a part of the initiative’s network of 16 buildings across the region. HTH operations-only sites are buildings which HTH funds the cost of operations, programming, and services such as case management tailored to individual needs and enrichment programming focused on educational attainment, job readiness, and transportation access.

Left to right: views of Bloomside in Burien and Sacred Medicine House in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood. Sacred Medicine House photo courtesy of Chief Seattle Club.

With the opening of Bloomside in Burien, HTH is able to support adults living with disabilities permanently exit out of chronic homelessness. In 2020, King County invested over $12 million toward the construction of Bloomside and later partnered with Downtown Emergency Services Center (DESC), the building’s operator, to secure funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for programming and services.

“The opening of Bloomside will help people with disabilities permanently exit chronic homelessness and ensure they have the resources to stay housed and the opportunity to thrive,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “Far too many individuals and families are unable to secure safe, affordable places to live. Bloomside’s 95 units of housing with support services will pave the way for a more inclusive and safe community for everyone.”

Through HTH, King County is also funding the operations for all of Bloomside’s 95 units of permanent supportive housing, 25 of which are reserved for veterans experiencing chronic homelessness, and thirty percent of the apartments reserved for eligible local residents.

“Burien is one of many places that have had far too many people struggling to live without a stable home. As we saw this happening in places like Burien, we determined as an organization that the kind of housing we know how to create and operate is needed in more of these places because that’s where the people are,” said Daniel Malone, DESC Executive Director. “We are delighted to call Burien home and can’t wait to support 95 Burien community members with safe and supportive permanent homes.”

Bloomside is the fifth HTH building operated by DESC and the first building for DESC to operate outside of Seattle. The other four HTH locations operated by DESC are all in Seattle: The Gateway in honor of Tenaya Wright in Haller Lake and the Mary Pilgrim Inn in Bitter Lake which are King County owned buildings; and two operations-only buildings – The North Star in Bitter Lake and Burbridge Place in Green Lake.

Named after the hope and rejuvenation that tenants gain from living in permanent supportive housing residences, Bloomside features colorful murals of gardens created by local artists Angelina Villalobos and Clare Johnson. Of these, the most striking mural is on the exterior face of the building’s west end which depicts a thriving garden in bloom. Bloomside units also have clear views of Tahoma, Lake Burien, and downtown Burien; with communal areas and outdoor benches surrounded by native plants; and includes meeting rooms for use by community groups.

The operations for all 120 permanent supportive housing units at Sacred Medicine House is funded by HTH. Operated by Chief Seattle Club, a non-profit organization supporting Urban Native and Indigenous community members, Sacred Medicine House provides housing to adults experiencing chronic homelessness. The five-story apartment building features a communal kitchen, activity room, lounge, laundry, an outdoor courtyard, and other amenities. The building also incorporates Indigenous artwork curated by Eighth Generation. Vibrant murals decorate every floor, with floor-to-ceiling paintings in the top four floors greeting residents as they walk in and out of the elevator.

“We are grateful to all our partners who continue to support our vision of a future where our Native community is safe, healthy, and housed,” said Derrick Belgarde, executive director of Chief Seattle Club. “We have hit a major milestone in our efforts. With the opening of Sacred Medicine House, along with our other properties, we have the space to house more than a quarter of our relatives in King County who have been experiencing chronic homelessness.”

Indigenous adults make up a disproportionate share of King County’s homeless population. In 2023, Native American households in King County were twelve times overrepresented among those experiencing chronic homelessness compared to their one percent representation in the general population. In response, through close collaboration with partners like Chief Seattle Club, the County is building homes that center traditional wellness, with culturally appropriate supports that are crucial to healing for our Indigenous communities.

To date, with the addition of Sacred Medicine House, King County has partnered with Chief Seattle Club to provide 299 units of interim and permanent supportive housing for Native American and Alaska Native people seeking to exit homelessness. This includes Salmonberry Lofts, a HTH building that opened in December 2022 in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood, and ʔálʔal which is just around the corner from Salmonberry.

“The poverty and homelessness that too many of our Indigenous neighbors face is a direct result of the violence of settler colonialism that forced this region’s Coast Salish people off their ancestral lands,” said Simon Foster, Director of King County’s Housing and Community Development division. “More than 100 years later, we are continuing the difficult work of mitigating these injustices and past harms. Through Health Through Housing and other King County programs that work in partnership with Native communities, we are moving closer to ensuring that every one of our Indigenous neighbors have a place to call home.”

Launched by Executive Constantine in 2020, HTH is King County’s long-term commitment to accelerate the region’s response to chronic homelessness through the use of repurposed hotels and other existing buildings. In total, 16 apartment buildings spanning seven cities in King County have been established in partnership with the initiative — 11 of which are owned by King County. To learn more about Bloomside, Sacred Medicine House, and other HTH locations, visit the HTH data dashboard.