New CCS apartments in Kent meet ‘deep need’ for supportive housing to help the homeless

KENT – A new permanent supportive residence for homeless men, women and veterans was dedicated February 24 by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne.

“It is such a joy to now have this residence here in Kent for those who are in need,” Archbishop Etienne said at the livestreamed blessing ceremony for the 80-unit Thea Bowman apartments, a project of Catholic Community Services/Catholic Housing Services located on the city’s West Hill.

“We’re very grateful for the staff who will staff this residence,” the archbishop said. As Jesus came to be a light in the darkness, he said, “we know that they will be a light for the individuals who dwell here.”

Dan Wise, deputy director of CCS of King County, noted that CCS has worked in Kent and the greater South King County area for many years. “This building is a direct response to the deep need for supportive housing that we have seen in this community,” Wise said.

The project is a collaboration with the city of Kent, King County, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and the King County Housing Authority, Wise said.

“We are excited to offer a place to call home to people from this community who have been accessing our emergency shelters and day centers in their struggle to get off the streets,” Wise added.

The four-story building offers studio and one-bedroom apartments along with on-site case management by CCS of Western Washington and Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing. The residence has a 24-7 front desk, visiting medical providers and community-building activities. Each unit has a kitchen with microwave, but communal kitchens are also available on some floors in the gathering spaces where residents can connect. Outside are raised garden beds and a dog run for residents who live with a furry family member.

“All of these supports are focused on helping tenants maintain their housing, connect to their community and achieve their goals,” Wise said.

The recorded part of the event included a message from Kent Mayor Dana Ralph, who sent “a huge thank you to Catholic Community Services for bringing this much-needed resource to our community.” Permanent supportive housing “is probably really the only path for a lot of our chronically homeless folks out of living on the street, out of living in tents, into what is their home,” the mayor said.

“The value of it is immeasurable, giving people back their dignity and giving people back their hope and recognizing that they need support and services on an ongoing basis,” Ralph added.

The blessing of a home, Archbishop Etienne said during the event, is intended “to recognize the indwelling of Christ in the people who live in the home as well as the home itself.”

Through the centuries, one of the church’s primary works has been not only to continue the sacramental life and to preach the word of God, the archbishop said, but also “through our acts of charity to give witness to the presence of Christ by the way we live our lives.”

“I’m just so grateful for the work of our Catholic Community Services and all of our staff and volunteers that are associated with the great charitable work of our church through this organization,” he said.

Apartments named for Servant of God Thea Bowman

The Thea Bowman Apartments are named for Servant of God Thea Bowman, a Mississippi-born religious sister, the granddaughter of slaves, who is one of six U.S. Black Catholics in the process of becoming a saint, said Brenda Fincher, a Kent City Council member.

Fincher, a member of Holy Spirit Parish in downtown Kent (which partners with CCS on a women’s shelter), said Bowman was an evangelist, scholar, preacher and singer who “had a strong drive to preach the Gospel of God’s love and forgiveness and racial reconciliation.”