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For more than 40 years, Plymouth has provided permanent housing and supportive services for single adults who have experienced long-term homelessness. Plymouth follows the Housing First philosophy, operating on the principle that people cannot improve their lives until they have a safe, stable place to live.
But resolving the homelessness crisis involves more than simply providing housing to individuals who are homeless. It also means building on that solid foundation with residences that are staffed 24/7 along with providing comprehensive and individualized support services to address the issues that lead to and prolong a person’s experience of homelessness.
Plymouth Housing owns and operates 15 buildings within downtown Seattle, serving more than 1,100 people who have experienced homelessness. By 2023, Plymouth plans to build 500 new apartments, develop and hone new programs, and promote health and stability to make an even bigger difference to our residents, the Seattle community, and neighbors experiencing homelessness.
Plymouth offers homes to people experiencing homelessness without asking them to “prove” that they’re ready for it, because we believe that everybody deserves a home.
At Plymouth, we lower barriers so that our housing is accessible to the people who need it. Our model of permanent housing, coupled with wraparound supportive services, gives our residents the solid base they need to rebuild their lives and leave homelessness behind forever.
Home is a place to recuperate and energize yourself to face challenges and opportunities. A place to gather the tools you need to achieve your goals, to prepare yourself before heading out into the world, to sleep at night without fear of waking up to an assault on your person or the theft of your belongings.
Since 1980, Plymouth has served people who've experienced long-term homelessness. By providing housing and personalized supportive services, we end homelessness one person at a time.
We believe that housing is a human right, and the first step to a more stable life. With a Housing First foundation, our residents can address additional needs with personalized services like medical care, substance use counseling, and mental health counseling, in order to achieve long-term stability in housing.
We’re in a time of unprecedented need. During January 2020’s Point in Time Count, 11,751 people were experiencing homelessness in King County, including more than 3,300 single adults experiencing chronic homelessness and in need of permanent supportive housing. In contrast, there are (on average) only five permanent supportive apartments available each week countywide.
Plymouth serves over 1,100 adults experiencing chronic homelessness, meaning people who have experienced long-term homelessness. To meet this incredible need, Plymouth is growing as swiftly as we can. Our goal is to build an additional 500 apartments by 2023.
Our residents are individuals who cannot access decent, affordable housing due to poverty, disabilities, or a previous criminal record. Around 97% of Plymouth's residents live with a disability. Those on Social Security disability benefits receive around $800 per month. If you had only $800 per month, how would you find a place to live in Seattle?
We're committed to caring for some of society's most underserved individuals by providing them with the support they need, including safe, healthy, vibrant buildings to call home.
In 1980, members of downtown Seattle’s Plymouth Congregational Church were deeply concerned when they realized people were sleeping on their church doorstep. Rev. David Colwell challenged his congregation to come up with a solution, proclaiming “one homeless person is one too many.”
Church members responded with the foundation of Plymouth Housing, a nonprofit, independent organization to develop and operate housing for those facing homelessness
Permanent supportive housing is a proven, cost-effective, and compassionate model that Plymouth Housing uses to help people out of homelessness.
By “permanent,” we mean that there is no time limit on our housing. Some Plymouth residents live with us for just a few years before moving into a different permanent apartment. Some residents live with us for the rest of their lives, and we’re lucky to have them as bedrock members of our community.
By “supportive,” we mean that we connect our residents with services that can help them thrive. Unlike transitional housing or temporary shelters, each of Plymouth’s supportive housing residents is paired up with a Housing Case Manager, who gets to know them and helps refer them to services. These services are tailored to each resident’s individual needs, and may include: onsite nursing and medical care, behavioral health treatment, substance use treatment, hospice care, veterans counseling, family reunification, money management programs, and community activities and outings.
Long-term homelessness becomes a self-perpetuating cycle without the right home. Plymouth’s permanent supportive housing breaks that cycle. 97% of Plymouth's residents succeed in maintaining a permanent home after leaving homelessness.
Plymouth’s supportive housing has been shown to reduce emergency department use by 74% for those with significant medical challenges. Supportive housing has also been shown to reduce recidivism by 40% among people who were formerly incarcerated. In safe, stable, supportive housing, people are more likely to get support to address other needs, like physical health challenges or substance use disorder.
Plymouth’s residents are the heart of our mission. They each have unique stories and journeys:
“I have a lot of medical problems and for the first time I feel like I have a home. Not an apartment, but a place I can call my home. It took me about six months to feel that way, but you have no idea how great it is to feel safe again... I had given up and now I feel that I can move forward. I wouldn't trade this place for anything.”
– Anonymous, Plymouth Resident
Some of the innumerable reasons we featured Plymouth Housing as our Cause of the Week:
Would you give $4 a month to support four nonprofits that are making a big difference? Join forces with other 52andChangmakers to automatically give to every Cause of the Week. Every Monday, you’ll wake up knowing you’ve already made a difference! As our community grows, so does the impact!
Together we’ve become volunteers in places we would have never expected, planted milkweed for butterflies, provided books to kids in need, helped save endangered turtles, helped turn excess food into nutrition, helped bring art to youth, educated one another about how we are connected to our delicate food systems, helped save abandoned horses and given old dogs new hope, watched foster youth shine in the spotlight of movie making, helped clean tires out of rivers… we could go on and on and on. It is an absolute joy to be a part of such an amazing network of humans making a difference.
“ALMA reconnects the lives of the formerly incarcerated back to the fabric of society. Our participants have the chance at attaining gainful employment and becoming self-sufficient. Urban Farming helps everyone involved explore the relationships between plants, animals and humans as a way of creating a profound connection to both nature and their community.” - ALMA Backyard Farms
While we’re writing this and you’re reading it, Pajaro Valley Loaves and Fishes is out there, finding ways to provide food to more people in need throughout Santa Cruz County, where one of three residents are reported to be food insecure.
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