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Yes, I want to support My MLTnews!‘If this place wasn’t here I don’t know how I would’ve survived’
— Sherman Gillins
The Jean Kim Foundation’s (JKF) Hygiene Center in Lynnwood is here to stay.
Edmonds-based European travel guide and philanthropist Rick Steves announced at an event Wednesday at the hygiene center that he purchased the property the center sits on shortly after learning of plans to close it.
“I vividly remember what it’s like as a kid backpacking around the world to need a shower,” Steves said at the event. “This is a place that gives countless people that are down and out a shower.”
Sherman Gillins, a guest at the hygiene center, said there aren’t many places that treat guests as well as the center does. He said it’s good to see people show support for the center.
Although Gillins has been spending most of his days at local warming centers as of late, he said the hygiene center is a gathering and meeting place, and that it helps people “stay human.”
“I’m going on my second year here,” Gillins said. “If this place wasn’t here I don’t know how I would’ve survived.”
The hygiene center has provided more than 50,000 showers to people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity since it opened in 2020. Guests can eat a hot meal and have access to clothing, essential needs and case management services.
The Jean Kim Foundation has been using the building rent-free for the past five years. The building used to be an emissions testing facility.
The My Neighborhood News Group (MNNG) reported Nov. 10 that the hygiene center was closing due to circumstances beyond its control. MNNG learned on Nov. 14 that there were plans to sell the property, and that the Foundation was looking for a host site.
On Nov. 25, MNNG reported that an anonymous donor – now known as Steves – committed $2 million to buy the building, and that the Foundation needed to raise $500,000 because the total price came out to $2.5 million.
Roughly two weeks after the fundraising announcement, the Foundation told MNNG on Dec. 12 that the foundation raised close to $400,000. Some of the donations came from out of state, including Oregon, Montana, Texas, Michigan, Indiana and Florida.
At the Dec. 17 event, JKF Executive Director Sandra Mears gifted Steves a suitcase cover with yellow rubber ducks on them. Some attendees also ate white cake with the words “fait accompli” written in red icing.
The following officials spoke at the event: State Rep. and Snohomish County Councilmember Strom Peterson; JKF Board Chair Ted Haase; Hazel Miller Foundation Board Chair Maria Montalvo; Verdant Health Commission Board Secretary Carolyn Brennan; and Father Matthew O’Leary of St. Thomas More Parish and Holy Rosary Parish.
Mears said Millennia Ministries sends a big order to the hygiene center every Monday so there’s a stock of snacks and fruits, among other foods. The Edmonds Food Bank also helps supplement items guests can take throughout the day.
O’Leary said 115 members from St. Thomas More Parish and Holy Rosary Parish help serve hot meals at the hygiene center.
One of Gillins’ favorite meals so far is casserole.
“Today’s news about this building and the continued stability of this program is a powerful reminder of what’s possible when a community comes together to support what matters,” Brennan said.
Angelica Relente is a Murrow News Fellow covering housing and related issues in South Snohomish County for the My Neighborhood News Network. Contact her at angelica@myedmondsnews.com.
God bless Rick Steves for his kindness and generosity.
To borrow from Charles Dickens:
“it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”