The new Haven location is finally open!

As of October 29, 2023, our permanent overnight shelter is open and providing a safe place for anyone experiencing homelessness on Whidbey Island, 365 days a year.

We can’t say thank you enough to all of our donors, volunteers, staff, and community partners - especially CRC and FRC in Oak Harbor, two faith organizations who supported the Haven by hosting us at their churches while we worked to find a permanent home, and the Oak Harbor Lions Club, who provided drivers to transport our guests from registration to the shelter while it was hosted by the churches.

Both the churches and the Lions Club have supported us since we initially opened the Haven in 2017, and they have gone above and beyond to help us keep the Haven open and running smoothly.

A little background:

For everyone who’s asked, and anyone who doesn’t know the history - these are the final steps of a journey that started three years ago (well, it really all started back in 2017 when we opened the Haven as a pop-up shelter hosted by CRC in Oak Harbor, but that’s a story you can read here.)

In the summer of 2020, we were awarded a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce which allowed us to purchase a vacant property just north of Coupeville. Over the past three years, we’ve worked to prepare this former church to become the new home of The Haven - from permits to building upgrades to installing bunk beds and laundry machines.

As you can imagine, this was a big project! We had to upgrade the building with a fire suppression system for the safety of our guests and staff, as well as plan the layout and acquire furniture and bedding for our maximum capacity of 30 guests. We also had to solve the issue of transporting guests from Oak Harbor and back, as the trip was too much of a strain for our local drivers and smaller vans. But, with the help of our whole team of volunteers, staff, board, and community partners, we’ve leapt all the hurdles this project has thrown at us, and our doors are finally open!

To everyone who’s cheered us on over the last few years - THANK YOU. We can never say it enough, or come up with the right words to tell you how much your support has meant to us, but we can try!

Making homelessness a brief and rare experience

on Whidbey Island

 
 
Our vision says it all. Homelessness is not a Seattle or an urban issue. Homelessness is everywhere, including here on Whidbey Island
We provide emergency overnight shelter (through the Haven) and transitional housing (through the House of Hope) that give positive results.
Learn more about homelessness, our programs, and the support network on Whidbey Island.

2022 starts on a high note!

 

January brings lots of good news to the Coalition

Read more on our News page!

 
 

Join the hundreds of generous people who have helped make Homelessness a brief and rare occurrence on Whidbey Island.