The Downtown Emergency Service Center has won a 2018 VISION 2040 Award from the Puget Sound Regional Council for The Estelle, a permanent supportive housing development. The awards recognize innovative projects and programs that help ensure a sustainable future as the region grows.
“The Estelle is a thoughtful and innovative housing project,” said Josh Brown, Executive Director of PSRC, “the DESC has worked to get at the primary barriers chronically homeless people face when trying to get off the streets by providing health care, regular meals, and a safe place to heal.”
The Estelle is a sustainably built new residence near the Mount Baker Light Rail Station designed to provide permanent supportive housing for 91 formerly chronically homeless single adults. The building includes common space for leisure, computing, and outdoor time, in addition to daily meals. Healthcare services for tenants are provided onsite thanks to a unique partnership between DESC and Harborview Medical Center.
The award was presented to the DESC on September 12, 2018.
VISION 2040 is the region's growth management, economic, and transportation strategy, designed to meet the needs of the 5 million people expected to be living in the region in 2040. It is an integrated, long-range vision for the future that lays out a strategy for maintaining a healthy region - promoting the well-being of people and communities, economic vitality, and a healthy environment.