Homelessness is a complicated issue, and our community is working hard to increase resources and efficiencies to disrupt the cycle of homelessness for this generation and the next. Lydia Place housing, parenting, counseling, and community engagement programs are an important part of this effort.

Housing Programs

Family Housing, Campus Housing, Housing for Households Without Children, and DVSAS Partnership

Family Housing

Mission: to provide immediate and lasting housing interventions as a means to prevent the generational cycle of homelessness from continuing.

Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) pairs permanent, income-based rental subsidy with long-term case management to create a comprehensively supportive housing program. Case management is required for the length of time that the client is their unit. Lydia Place has 70 designated PSH apartment units for families with children, in partnership with the Bellingham Housing Authority, to support this effort.

Rapid Re-housing (RRH) provides move-in costs along with a short-term (6 month average) tapering rental subsidy for clients approved for housing in the private-rental market. The program begins with an effort to quickly locate and secure housing units, supporting clients in overcoming barriers related to rental screening criteria if needed.

Emergency Hotel Stays Lydia Place offers emergency motel stays to vulnerable families with young children. This is an expensive option for emergency shelter, but it has been necessary as there is not enough emergency shelter for families currently available in Whatcom County.

Campus Housing

Mission: to provide immediate and lasting housing interventions as a means to prevent the generational cycle of homelessness from continuing.

Case Management The Campus Housing Program (CHP) provides so much more than simply a safe place to live. Our campuses provide intensive, ongoing case management that supports clients in meeting their short and long-term goals related to housing, finances, education, employment, health, community connectedness, and parenting.

Lydia Place Owned and Managed Properties The Campus Housing Program consists of three Lydia Place owned properties. Baker Place, Bell Tower, and the Gladstone House – totaling 17 total units. In addition, we manage the Chestnut Street House, a single family home owned by Whatcom Educational Credit Union set aside for families as short term emergency housing. This is one of the few resources in our community that keeps families with a male caregiver together while working towards permanent housing.

In the Works Heart House: an 11-unit apartment building and childcare center and A Place for Dads: a single family home planned for a duplex addition.

Housing for Households Without Children

Mission: to support individuals in exiting homelessness and achieving sustained independence.

A mix of rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing placements, these services are a partnership with the Whatcom Homeless Service Center and the Whatcom County Health Department targeting the most vulnerable adults on the Housing Pool wait list.

DVSAS Partnership

Mission: to ensure that every household who enters the safe shelter has a safe place to go upon leaving the shelter system.

Our DVSAS Partnership Program provides case management and housing resource access to clients residing in one of DVSAS’ two safe shelters, and to clients in emergency motel stays paid for by DVSAS.

Parent Support Program

Parents as Teachers, Incredible Years, and CenteringPregnancy

Mission: To end the cycle of homelessness and poverty though a multi-generational approach to family support.

Parents as Teachers

The feature service of the Parent Support Program is Parents as Teachers (PAT), a nation-wide, evidence-based service with 30 years of research proving its success. Certified parent educators visit our families in the comfort of their homes a minimum of twice monthly to support parents in developing the skills and confidence needed to raise healthy, happy little ones. We provide developmental screening and equip families with activities and knowledge to understand and optimize child development. Families can enroll in PAT anytime beginning prenatal to age 4, and services can continue through kindergarten.

The Incredible Years

The Incredible Years serves families with children age 6-12. Lydia Place has adopted the home based model to reduce barriers to access. The School Age parenting program has been shown to strengthen parent-child interactions and attachment, reduce harsh discipline and foster parents’ ability to promote children’s social, emotional, and academic development. Some of the topics covered are special individualized time with each child; academic, social and emotional coaching; using praise and incentives; rules, responsibilities and limit setting; prosocial discipline; and problem solving and academic persistence.

CenteringPregnancy

Lydia Place and Moonbelly Midwifery are partnering together to provide a unique blend of trauma-informed, compassionate, professional, midwifery care for pregnant people experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or other life transitions. Our groups provide a safe, supportive, fun, comfortable, and uplifting community with quality prenatal care and childbirth education all-in-one.

Mental Health Program

Mission: to support clients in moving closer to living a life where they feel mentally and emotionally healthy.

Lydia Place’s Mental Health Program provides high quality, low barrier and flexible, clinical mental health services. We estimate more than 60% of those we serve have a significant mental health challenge that impacts their housing stability and limits their ability to effectively engage in services. When unsheltered individuals with mental health challenges become housed without adequate access to mental health services it makes it difficult to achieve housing stability and increases the risk of them entering back into homelessness.

Services include:

Mobile intensive mental health therapy including assessments, treatment planning, and care coordination
Short and long-term mental health interventions and support.
Crisis response and intervention
Safety planning
Wellness planning
Therapy groups
Training and consultation to Lydia Place staff and volunteers
Clinical training and hands on practice opportunities for graduate level mental health students

Community Engagement Program

Mission: to develop sustainable community partnerships, foster and strengthen connections with business and individual donors, provide program funding and direct benefit programs to Lydia Place clients and our community, and to bring awareness to the faces and causes of homelessness.

Functions include:

Local Partnerships
Volunteer Programs
Donor and Donation Management
Direct Service Voucher Programs
Direct Service Holiday Drives
Community Education
Press, Marketing, and Mass Communications

Wise Buys Thrift Store

Owned and operated by Lydia Place

Mission: to process and sell community donations in a respectful, sustainable, and usable manner to benefit our clients and the greater community, provide job training and educational opportunities, as well as increase awareness of the faces and causes of homelessness.

Functions include:

Community Engagement
Academic Internships
Vocational Placements
Volunteer Opportunities
Vouchers for Lydia Place and partnering agency clients
Recycling/ Landfill Deferment