Catholic Charities supportive housing has 94 percent success rate
Permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals and families built by Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington (CCEW) has a 94 percent success rate, based on Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data.
"Success" means that people who move out of homeless shelters, off the streets, from living in cars or couch surfing into the permanent supportive housing are there more than three years.
The national average is 40 percent, also based on HUD data.
In the 15 "Haven" low-income housing tax-credit properties that CCEW has built in the region since 2011, its staff assist residents with mental health struggles, substance use treatment, case management, life skills counseling, employment support, tenancy skills and health care management. They address these and other issues from intergenerational poverty and chronic homelessness.
Rob McCann, executive director of CCEW, said four more permanent supportive housing properties will be completed in 2025 and 2026, with applications underway for two to four more per year through 2028.
In May, Dominican Sisters Haven in Colville will open its doors with 72 one-, two- and three-bedroom units of affordable, permanent supportive housing in three buildings. It includes a gathering place, playground and recreational amenities.
"The city of Colville approached us and said they had a need and wanted us to build there. City leaders connected us with a property owner. We made an offer that was accepted," said Alex Reynolds, vice president of housing outcomes.
"When the units immediately fill with homeless people on a waiting list, family homelessness in Colville will be brought to functional zero," said Rob.
"By that we mean the point in time count for Stevens County reported 62 individuals and 38 households experiencing homelessness in 2024," said Jonathan Mallahan, executive director of Catholic Housing Ventures.
"Dominican Sisters Haven will add capacity to the community to help achieve functional zero in homelessness. This means an individual or family's experience of homelessness is likely to be short and less likely to reoccur," he clarified.
"There are many more in Colville who are struggling, marginally housed and at risk of homelessness" Jonathan explained. "In addition to opening Dominican Sisters Haven, we need to continue to work to add capacity to prevent and respond to homelessness in the community."
Dominican Sisters Haven is named to honor the Dominican Sisters who founded and served the community through Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville. Dominican Sisters started the hospital in 1919 and expanded its buildings and services until turning it over to the Sisters of Providence in 1993.
Once the homeless are housed, other units will be low-income housing for families whose incomes are 30, 40 or 50 percent of the area median income.
Rural Resources Community Action in Colville, a partner of CCEW serving rural communities, will coordinate the services and referrals for case management, medical services, health and wellness classes, adult education, food preparation and nutrition classes, as well as the other usual services. For children, there will be Head Start, Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and out-of-school programs.
"We did a needs assessment in Colville and found many people underhoused or homeless—some living on the streets but more who were invisible, living in a trailer without hookups or couch surfing," said Alex. "The assessment also determined what services were needed."
CCEW is close to starting 48 units in Twisp and finishing 72 units in Clarkston.
In Spokane, it is breaking ground in August for 48 units in St. Agnes Haven on the corner of Government Way and Sunset Blvd.
It will break ground on 72 units in February 2026 for River Family Haven and the Spokane Salish School on land that was once part of the Convent of the Holy Names grounds. The school, apartments and five-acre campus will be permanently transferred to the Spokane Salish School—a $30 million asset.
The convent was previously located on 65 acres that were traditionally winter grounds for Salish-speaking tribes of the region, said Rob. Of that, the Spokane County Conservation Futures program acquired 31 acres along the Spokane River for preservation, ensuring it is left in its natural state and not developed.
Rob said the names of the havens are chosen to honor individuals and groups.
• River Family Haven, for example, honors the Salish as "People of the River."
• Fr. Bach Haven, the first one built in 2011 in Spokane, was named for Fr. Frank Bach, who served diocesan parishes, visited people at House of Charity and was director of Catholic Charities of Spokane from 1964 to 1978.
• Skylstad Family Haven, which is being built in Twisp, will be named after the family of Bishop William Skylstad, who was bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Yakima from 1977 to 1990 and bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane from 1990 to 2010.
• Buder Haven in Spokane honors Sister Madonna Buder, known as the Iron Sister for participating in the Ironman Triathlon and other triathlons.
• Mother Teresa Haven in Spokane has 48 units for families and 24 for individuals.
• Pope Francis Haven in Spokane Valley has 51 units.
With the permanent supportive housing planned into 2026, CCEW will have 72 affordable-housing properties in 13 Central and Eastern Washington counties.
Three years ago, CCEW, which then had 30 properties, received Spokane Housing Ventures' affordable housing portfolio so those 36 properties would remain affordable.
"Spokane Housing Ventures dissolved and transferred their assets to us to manage, preventing them from flipping into high-end apartments that would kick the poor out," said Rob.
When CCEW received them, they came under its property management system and were brought up to its standards so people in them could live in dignity and safety, he added.
That meant not only improving their curbside appeal by upgrading their exterior appearance, but also putting on new roofs, replacing flooring, buying refrigerators and more—millions of dollars of improvements.
"When I began 25 years ago, working with Donna Hanson, then executive director of Catholic Charities—whose name is on one of the havens—she set the rule for our housing. That was answering the question, 'Would you want to put your mother in an apartment?' If the answer was yes, we were managing it right," Rob explained. "If the answer was 'no,' we would make changes so we would want to have our mother live there."
Before adding the Spokane Housing Venture properties, CCEW properties had 1,200 units. With the Spokane Housing Ventures properties, previous properties and new construction, CCEW now has 3,100 units.
"With those, 5,128 men, women and children have a place to put their heads on Catholic Charities' pillows at night," said Rob. "Without them, 5,128 more people would be on the streets."
CCEW continues to build housing. Its properties include housing for seniors, veterans, adults with disabilities and farmworker families, as well as those for homeless individuals and families.
Catholic Charities Housing serves people with chronic mental health conditions, adults with disabilities, veterans and low-income individuals and families.
CCEW properties are in Chewelah, Colville, Davenport, Deer Park, Medical Lake, Clarkston, Othello, Pasco, Pullman, Walla Walla, Brewster, Quincy, Omak, Twisp, Winthrop, Sunnyside, Goldendale, Grandview and Yakima.
Catholic Charities has been serving Central and Eastern Washington communities for more than 75 years, providing life-affirming services for vulnerable people regardless of religious faith.
"At Catholic Charities we feed the hungry, heal the hurting and welcome strangers," said Rob. "I'll keep doing that until all are done, but it's never-ending work. Our goal at Catholic Charities is to put ourselves out of a job, so there is no more intergenerational poverty. I hope my children and grandchildren will see it."
Rob is frustrated by what he considers "an urban myth" about the havens.
That myth is based on the six percent who fail to engage in services and draw SWAT teams, fire engines and ambulances to the havens because of a relapse into drug use, flooding an apartment or returning to a shelter. Media typically cover the "unusual" outcome, not the 94 percent success rate of moving people off the streets, out of cars and out of shelters into forever housing.
HUD and the city audit the Havens every year to determine the number of people still in permanent supportive housing and out of homelessness.
"There still are homeless people on the streets," Rob said, "so we keep building permanent supportive housing."
For information, call 358-4250, email dave.meany@cceasternwa.org or visit cceasternwa.org/properties.
