Another cold night begins … and the West Seattle Giving Spirit sustains the Westside Neighbors Shelter, our next spotlighted organization in our holiday-season series. Three times a week through year’s end, WSB is bringing you this special holiday-season opportunity to learn more about, and support, some of our area’s hardworking nonprofits, in partnership with the Learning Communities Foundation. Tonight – consider this one-of-a-kind shelter:
On a freezing night in 2019, Keith Hughes opened the doors of the American Legion Hall to a handful of people with nowhere to sleep safely and stay warm. As Commander of American Legion Post 160, he was used to assisting veterans; however, he knew he also had to respond to the emergency needs of the men and women huddled outside his door.
Since then, Westside Neighbors Shelter has expanded to act as a morning warmup center year-round, with hot drinks and breakfast. From November into March, the hall becomes a sleeping room filled with cots, giving unhoused adults a place to stay warm and dry when the outside temperatures fall to dangerous levels. Hot dinners and breakfast are provided by the local community. People experiencing homelessness can shower and get clean clothing. All adults are welcome, regardless of gender, whether or not they’re a veteran.
Westside Neighbors Shelter is a volunteer-operated emergency shelter; it currently receives no funding from government sources. The shelter has only one paid employee: a security professional who watches the hall when it’s occupied overnight. Community donations of money, labor, and supplies help provide food, heat, and basic sanitation for the increasing number of people unable to find a place to live in West Seattle and Burien.
As word of this place grew, so did the number of men and women hoping for a hot meal, a shower and clean clothes, and a place to shelter from a freezing night. The number of people seeking shelter here has risen dramatically–from up to 20 per night in 2019 to up to 40 per night in 2023. “I don’t see that stopping or even leveling off,” says Keith.
Keith estimates that last winter the shelter handed out 1,300 pairs of socks, 800 stocking caps, 800 pairs of gloves, 500 sets of clothing, and 400 winter coats. “We take care of a lot of people here. I am sure it’s 500 or 600 individuals over the winter,” he says.
“We’re providing temporary emergency sheltering. Most of the people who come here are on a journey to find permanent housing solutions, and this is a stopover on the journey.”
“We don’t get a lot of feedback from people who are here for one or two nights and move on. But out of the core of longer-term clients, we have had our successes with those who have been able to find interim housing solutions, and those who have come to their own realization that they need professional help for mental-health issues, alcohol and drug overuse issues, and we have sometimes been able to help them find resources to meet their needs. Those resources are outside of this facility, because we can’t provide those resources directly here at this time,” says Keith.
Your support can keep dozens of people safe and warm every night this time of year.
DONATE HERE
VOLUNTEER HERE
WHAT’S NEEDED MOST
LEARN MORE ABOUT WESTSIDE NEIGHBORS SHELTER
Scroll through our archive of West Seattle Giving Spirit spotlights here, and watch for the next one on Monday!
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