The Whidbey Homeless Coalition began to form in 2014 when a group of concerned individuals and organizations, including government, social services, church, business and fraternal organization as well as individuals from all walks of life, came together to recognize and solve the growing problem of homelessness on Whidbey Island.
After many community conversations and much work the Whidbey Homeless Coalition received its non-profit designation as a 501(c)(3) in February 2015 backdated to May 2014. Its mission was and still is:
Making homelessness a brief and rare experience on Whidbey Island
The story of the Coalition has continued from there:
House to Hope was purchased and renovation began in 2015
Our first employee was hired in early 2015 and worked out of an attic space upstairs in the South Whidbey Commons.
The House of Hope was opened to families and vulnerable adults as a 90 day transitional shelter in Langley on Memorial Day, 2015. A Board Member served as the House Manager.
A mentorship program was added to the House of Hope in 2016 and a second staff person was hired to develop and coordinate the program as well as serve as House Manager.
In the winter of 2016 – 2017 the Coalition managed the Emergency Warming Shelter for the Langley United Methodist Church, serving homeless when the temperatures dropped to 35 degrees or below.
In March 2017 the Coalition hired its first Executive Director.
And in April 2017 we opened the doors of a year-round nightly emergency shelter, at the Christian Reform Church in Oak Harbor, called the Haven, adding a Shelter Manager and a Shelter Assistant to our staff.
Hired Jonathan Kline as Executive Director.
Paid off all personal loans and Lines of credit. The only debt remaining was the mortgage on the House of Hope.
COVID-19 was a challenge or everyone. Many programs had to close and the Whidbey Homeless Coalition remained operational and stepped in to help. In 2020 we temporarily added food based and feeding programs.
In January 2021 we purchased, with no debit, a permanent location for the Haven on Morris Road in Coupeville.
2021 brought more issues as more homeless contracted the virus. The Coalition partnered with Island County to temporarily open the newly purchased Haven on Morris road to house COVID-19 homeless.
Successfully challenged the Island County zoning ordinances to official allow establishing of a permanent night to night emergency shelter to exist in rural Island County
Plans are to have the Type II permit to run the Haven as a permanent 13-bed facility in early 2022..
In 2022, as renovations continue on the Haven, the plans are to attain out Type III permit and complete the replacement of our current pop-up emergency program.
This has been possible due to the generous gifts - in dollars, skills, and materials - from the community as well as grants from Island County, churches, and other charities and caring organizations.
The Whidbey Homeless Coalition began to form in 2014 when a group of concerned individuals and organizations, including government, social services, church, business and fraternal organization as well as individuals from all walks of life, came together to recognize and solve the growing problem of homelessness on Whidbey Island.
After many community conversations and much work the Whidbey Homeless Coalition received its non-profit designation as a 501c3 in July 2015. Its mission was and still is:
To make homelessness a brief and rare experience
in our Community
The story of the Coalition has continued from there:
Our first employee was hired in early 2015 and worked out of an attic space upstairs in the South Whidbey Commons.
The House of Hope was opened to families and vulnerable adults as a 90 day transitional shelter in Langley on Memorial Day, 2016. A Board Member served as the House Manager.
A mentor-ship program was added to the House of Hope in 2016 and a second staff person was hired to develop and coordinate the program as well as serve as House Manager.
In the winter of 2016 – 2017 the Coalition managed the Emergency Warming Shelter for the Langley United Methodist Church, serving homeless when the temperatures dropped to 35 degrees or below.
In March 2017 the Coalition's first Executive Director was hired.
And in April 2017 we opened the doors of a year-round nightly emergency shelter, at the Christian Reform Church in Oak Harbor, adding a Shelter Manager and a Shelter Assistant to our staff.
All of this has been possible due to the generous gifts - in dollars, skills, and materials - from the community as well as grants from Island County.