An Operation Nightwatch volunteer (Image: Operation Nightwatch)
Capitol Hill’s St. Mark’s will add a new women’s emergency shelter facility from Operation Nightwatch as it moves forward with a plan for new affordable housing to be developed on its North Capitol Hill campus.
Plans filed with the city describe construction of a “limited use emergency shelter with 20 beds and limited hours of operation” in the 1950s-era addition to the 10th Ave E property’s landmarks-protected St. Nicholas building.
CHS reported here earlier this year on a planned development and adaptive reuse project envisioned to create more than 100 affordable homes in a transformation of the nearly 100-year-old building.
In the meantime, the new shelter from Operation Nightwatch will call the St. Nicholas addition home.
Operation Nightwatch grew from religious outreach efforts on the streets of Seattle in the 1960s and continues to provide services and shelter including at its 14th Ave S headquarters. It is part of the city’s faith-based community of homelessness service providers and collaborates with organizations like The Union Gospel Mission to fill shelter beds.
The St. Mark’s shelter will be part of a growing Operation Nightwatch presence on Capitol Hill where the nonprofit has launched a new Broadway Street Ministry. “The goal of street ministry is to make friends, and help our friends move toward housing, treatment, employment, or even moving back with friends or family,” the organization says.
The Rev. Michael Cox, pastor at Broadway’s All Pilgrims Church is director of outreach for Operation Nightwatch.
Supported by around $2 million in annual funding according to its nonprofit reporting, Operation Nightwatch describes itself as reducing “the impact of poverty and homelessness, in keeping with Jesus’ teaching to love our neighbors.
“Late in the evening, at the Operation Nightwatch Dispatch Center, clients seeking shelter are offered a simple meal while staff locates available shelter space,” the organization writes.
Operation Nightwatch says its three paid staff members and community volunteers work every day of the year serving around 110 to 140 homeless clients daily.
The organization says it currently funds off-site shelter in two locations for 88 men nightly.
You can learn more at seattlenightwatch.org.
$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍
