This month, we welcomed home the residents of Dorothy Place with fun, games, and a barbecue feast. The summertime barbecue bash celebrated the end of weeks’ worth of updates and rehab on the apartments. The work—ranging from a fresh coat of exterior paint to preventative rehab work—required the residents to temporarily move into local hotels and rental units for much of the summer.

Made possible by the generous support from Whatcom County, WECU, and Interfaith Coalition, the project at Dorothy Place is a testament to the power of community. It is your support that ensures Dorothy Place will remain a safe, warm, and welcoming place for individuals and families for generations to come.

Safety, Support, and a Home for People & Families in Need: Dorothy Place Apartments

Since 1999, Dorothy Place Apartments have been a sanctuary for individuals and families who are homeless after escaping domestic violence. Our first official supportive housing program, Dorothy Place is a crucial resource in our community, ensuring that vulnerable families have a safe and stable place to call home. Over the years, Dorothy Place has undergone a number of repairs and upgrades. Those changes have included updating safe and appropriate play spaces for children, adding a resource learning room, and making the apartment complex more energy-efficient and eco-friendly.

Now in its third decade since its construction, major improvements and repairs are underway to ensure the building’s longevity and the safety of its residents for years to come. More than just a coat of paint, the project was a major facelift and a proactive effort to improve the space for residents and address potential problems long before they become unsafe for residents—all thanks to generous local funding. While the scope of the project, unfortunately, required the current residents to temporarily move out of their homes, all residents were able to stay comfortably in hotel or rental units, thanks to our fantastic community partners, WECU and Interfaith Clinic.

A History of Commitment and Care

Dorothy Place, built in the late nineties, stands as a testament to the power of community. Its founding was the result of a collective effort to provide a safe haven for survivors of domestic violence, allowing them to rebuild their lives for themselves and their children. With 22 units, Dorothy Place follows the Permanent Supportive Housing model, offering the certainty and stability of long-term housing combined with individualized supportive services and connections to community and other Opportunity Council programs like job training and financial wellness.

Permanent Supportive Housing: A Model That Works

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is a proven, long-term solution for helping people experiencing chronic homelessness achieve stability. At Dorothy Place, PSH offers stability, housing, and supportive services for children, families, and other people in need. This model is particularly effective for those who have faced long-term homelessness, often compounded by other challenges such as mental health issues, trauma, or physical disabilities. This model is particularly effective for those who have faced long-term homelessness, often compounded by other challenges such as mental health issues, trauma, or physical disabilities.

PSH is not just about providing a roof overhead; it’s about ensuring people have the support, resources, and autonomy they need to thrive. Residents at Dorothy Place benefit from a combination of permanent housing and voluntary support services tailored to their needs. These personalized services allow residents to identify what tools and resources they need—from help accessing medical care to budgeting, financial management, and more. By integrating housing with these support services, residents begin to rebuild their lives, regain independence, and establish roots and stability.

For children, PSH at Dorothy Place offers a safe environment where they can attend school consistently and develop healthy routines. Families have the security of knowing they won’t have to move again due to unstable housing, which significantly reduces stress and allows them to focus on building a better future. The people calling  Dorothy Place “home” gain a community of support and a sense of belonging—two essential components in the recovery from homelessness. 

This model has been shown to reduce public costs related to emergency services, hospitalization, and law enforcement. Most importantly, it improves the quality of life for residents by providing the dignity of a permanent home. Dorothy Place has been a success story for Opportunity Council since its inception, demonstrating the long-term benefits of Permanent Supportive Housing for families and individuals who need it most.

The success stories of Dorothy Place highlight the critical importance of providing a stable, supportive environment for children, families, and individuals overcoming the challenges of homelessness. To continue delivering these life-changing benefits, it was vital that we keep the apartment complex in top shape. Maintaining a safe, welcoming, and well-functioning living space ensures that residents feel valued, secure, and empowered to make positive changes in their lives—reinforcing the stability and dignity that Permanent Supportive Housing is designed to provide.

Current Needs and Planned Improvements

After decades of serving as a home for hundreds of families, Dorothy Place was in need of a facelift. That work, which began in 2023, also gave us an opportunity to combine that work with preemptive rehabilitation—work that allowed us to make important design and structural changes that had the potential to cause issues decades down the road.

Latest Improvements & Updates for Dorothy Place include:

  • Exterior Painting. The building’s exterior had not been fully painted since its original construction.
  • Re-roofing: Replacing the 23-year-old roof that had begun to show signs of wear and tear.
  • Maintaining Solar Power: The existing system currently generates approximately $2200 per year in savings.
  • Walkway Repair & Replacement: the original walkways were redesigned to extend the longevity of the building.
  • Additional Updates: From replacing the fence, upgrading the courtyard, and even replacing the elevator hardware, we will be making numerous updates that help maintain and upgrade the space for everyone currently calling Dorothy Place home.

Commitment to Safety and Stability

At Opportunity Council, we believe in creating an environment where families can thrive, free from the fear and uncertainty that comes with homelessness and domestic violence. The planned repairs and upgrades at Dorothy Place Apartments are about more than maintaining a building—they are about preserving a vital community resource that supports individuals and families in their hardest moments. While these upgrades were a stressful and disruptive imposition on the current residents, they ensure that Dorothy Place will continue to be a beacon of hope and security for years to come.

Improving the facility and addressing issues before they become safety hazards are also key examples of our comprehensive approach to ensuring everyone in our communities has a safe place to call home. Our work around housing and homelessness encompasses helping people stay in their homes or exit homelessness, creating new homes for our community, and preserving existing homes like those found at Dorothy Place.

 

Give now to help the individuals and families served by Dorothy Place and others served by Opportunity Council.