‘Today marks an important milestone’: Edmonds New Start Center opens

An orange ribbon hung in front of the entrance door of a building Monday in Edmonds.

Local nonprofit and elected leaders stood at the door, with two holding a giant pair of scissors. A round of applause ensued after they cut the ribbon, marking the start of something new.

The Edmonds New Start Center at 22127 Hwy 99 officially opened June 29. Snohomish County and YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish hosted an opening celebration and community showcase, drawing dozens of people to what once was America’s Best Value Inn.

“Today marks an important milestone, and we are grateful to everyone whose vision and partnership and dedication helped to make this day possible,” said Kresha Green, senior director of emergency services for YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish. 

The New Start Center is a bridge housing facility for people experiencing homelessness. The center provides case management, behavioral health support and employment assistance, among other wraparound services.

The goal of the New Start Center is to transition adults from homelessness to stable housing. YWCA operates the 45-unit, gated facility with staff onsite 24/7. Residents have access to a computer station, wellness room, multipurpose room and laundry room. 

A typical room has a bed, desk, chair, dresser, mini fridge, microwave, sink, TV, night stand and lamp. An ADA room has the same items but is slightly bigger. All rooms have smoke detectors.

The New Start Center has office spaces for a community health worker, life coach specialist and landlord specialist. There is also a receptionist who greets people when they enter the facility.

The hope is to get people into stable housing within 90 days. YWCA has community partners that will give referrals. There is an intake process in place, and staffers are on high alert to any drug-related activities.

In addition to Green, the following officials took turns speaking at a podium during Monday’s event: Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers; County Councilmember and 21st District State Rep. Strom Peterson; Maria Chavez-Wilcox, CEO of YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish; County Human Services Director Mary Jane Brell Vujovic; Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen; and Mindy Woods, Edmonds human services program manager. 

Woods shared parts of her personal experience during her speech. About 16 years ago, she and her son stayed in the building – the first room on the left of the second floor – when it was still America’s Best Value Inn.

Woods and her son became homeless when black mold took over their apartment. 

“It was making us sick, so we had to evacuate,” Woods said.

Woods had called numerous housing organizations and was put on a waitlist. For months, she and her son bounced around from couch to couch until a room at America’s Best Value Inn opened up for them.

Woods said the services she and her son received at the time, which were only a fraction of what the New Start Center will offer, “made all the difference in the world.”

“I was connected to the right resources and the services that I needed to get back on my feet and find stable housing,” Woods said.

The New Start Center will meet people’s unique needs with dignity, respect and intentional goals in mind, Woods said.

Rosen said the property that the New Start Center sits on used to be a place where police officers “had some of the toughest experiences that they ever faced over a seven-year period.” Officers responded to robberies, assaults and stolen vehicles, among other crimes, the mayor said.

“I could not be happier that this place is not that place anymore,” Rosen said. “That chapter is over, and that’s what inspires me.”

Rosen added that partnerships make a community stronger. The New Start Center exists because of a partnership between multiple agencies, he said. 

“Communities aren’t measured by buildings that they build, they’re measured by the futures that they help create inside these buildings,” Rosen said.

Brell Vujovic said the New Start Center is part of an overarching system. 

“It’s not the only answer to homelessness, but it’s an important answer for the people it’s designed to serve,” Brell Vujovic said.

Somers said the New Start Center will change a lot of lives. Housing is housing, and the facility will provide a solution to those going through “really tough times.”

“Sometimes you just need that bridge housing to get somebody moving,” Chavez-Wilcox said.

The Edmonds New Start Center’s “sister” site, the Everett New Start Center (1602 S.E. Everett Mall Way), is expected to open sometime in July.

Both New Start centers have a combined budget of about $37 million. Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and money collected from the county’s 0.1% affordable housing sales tax paid for them. Snohomish County bought the properties in 2022. 

Angelica Relente is a Murrow News Fellow covering housing and related issues in South Snohomish County for the My Neighborhood News Group. Contact her at [email protected].