(The Center Square) – Seattle’s infamous Third Avenue corridor will see more homeless and drug addiction services available next year as the Downtown Emergency Service Center announced three new facilities are set to open along the street.
The Downtown Emergency Service Center, or DESC, is one of the region’s largest homeless service providers. The nonprofit received the third largest portion of funding from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in 2024 with $15.6 million.
Thanks to funding from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, DESC will open a new center on Third Avenue that will serve as a non-congregate shelter to provide behavioral health services 24/7.
DESC announced that its new building, the Stability Through Access and Resources (STAR) Center, is set to open by the end of March 2025.
Unhoused people suffering mental health issues and drug addiction will use the STAR Center as an entry point. The shelter is expected to serve between 75 and 85 individuals at a time.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority will oversee operations at the STAR Center.
“STAR Center represents an innovative approach to providing shelter and support for unsheltered adults with the greatest needs,” DESC Executive Director Daniel Malone said in a statement. “STAR Center will provide a pathway off the streets, into care, and ultimately out of homelessness for some of our most vulnerable neighbors.”
A new behavioral health clinic from DESC will also open sometime next year. DESC’s new clinic will be relocated from its current location just one block away along Third Avenue.
The new facility will act as a centralized hub for medical care, mental health support, and drug addiction treatment.
The DESC’s new behavioral health clinic will also have an Opioid Recovery and Care Access Center within. This center works to stabilize people overdosing on drugs.
At the center, patients can start buprenorphine or methadone and connect with other resources to continue work to address drug addiction.
Once clients are stabilized, rather than returning to the streets, they will have the opportunity to be referred to the STAR Center where they can continue their recovery while pursuing a path into permanent housing and out of homelessness.
Additionally, people with an opioid use disorder who have not recently overdosed will be able to walk in during certain hours to discuss starting medication treatment. By providing much-needed services such as medications for opioid use disorder, access to harm reduction supplies, education, and other services, DESC aims to prevent overdoses and cut down on emergency room use.
Overdoses and crime are highly concentrated along Third Avenue. The area already includes three permanent supportive housing facilities, a homeless shelter for women, a day shelter for women, and a medical clinic that provides healthcare for the homeless.
A city audit on drug use on Third Avenue earlier this year made some recommendations to reduce fatal overdoses and improve community safety in the two-block area in question.
The city has implemented measures to boost public safety along the Third Avenue corridor throughout the year.
Last fall, the city approved two bills to implement a crime prevention technology pilot program that deploys closed-circuit television cameras along the downtown Third Avenue corridor.
