More than 60 homeless seniors have found a place to call home thanks to a Seattle community geared toward getting older homeless residents off the street.
Ernestine Anderson Place was built to help seniors who are identified as frequent users of social services such as jail, detox programs, and emergency rooms, says Sharon Lee, executive director of the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI), the developer of the $12.3 million project.
There are no screening criteria for residents to be accepted into Ernestine Anderson. “We don’t have a list of conditions for them to be admitted ... ,” Lee says. “We don’t create all these hurdles for them to get into the housing.”
However, an array of services is available to help residents become more stable.
Forty-five of the apartments are for vulnerable homeless seniors, and 15 are for other low-income seniors, with eight reserved for veterans through the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program.
The Washington State Housing Finance Commission awarded the project low-income housing tax credits, which generated about $9.5 million from Enterprise Community Investment.
The city provided about $2.4 million from a voter-approved housing levy and HOME funds, and King County contributed $500,000 from a voter-approved veterans and human services levy. U.S. Bank provided a $7.3 million construction loan and sponsored a $650,000 Affordable Housing Program award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. United Way of King County gave an acquisition loan, and the Seattle Housing Authority provided 33 Sec. 8 and eight VASH vouchers.
