KGMI News
SEATTLE, Wash. (AP) – An innovative 24-hour homeless shelter and service center is now open in Seattle.
It’s utilizing a model the City of Bellingham also hopes to emulate.
The Navigation Center is unusual because it’s open to all, including couples, people with pets and those struggling with substance abuse.
People must be referred by the city’s specialized team of police and outreach workers.
At the center, they have access to showers, bathrooms and washer and dryers.
Mental health, housing and other social services are available at the shelter.
A homeless center proposed for Bellingham’s waterfront would have offered many of the same amenities, but plans for that facility were scrapped when the port bought the building.
The city is now looking for another spot for the so-called low barrier shelter.
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