Vine Maple Place works with single-parent families to break the generational cycle of homelessness by offering safety, providing stability, and equipping for self-sufficiency. Every day, they stand with determined families as they overcome crisis and defeat. To address the cycle that devastates children and families, Vine Maple Place emphasizes a holistic approach that heals broken relationships and gives children and moms the tools they need to cope with and resolve trauma and remove barriers that lead to homelessness.
At its location, near the intersection of Dorre Don Road and SE 216th Street in Maple Valley, Vine Maple Place held a grand opening celebration in December of its newly constructed Family Hope Center. One-hour “Vision of Hope” tours of the Center are currently scheduled on Friday, Feb. 1 at 11:00 am; Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 pm; Friday, Feb. 22 at 11:00 am. Interested parties should feel free to call for other times and dates, 425-432-2119 (ext111). The newly constructed 15,000 square foot regional resource center increases the capacity of Vine Maple Place whose overarching goal is to stop homelessness for generations to come.
The ultimate goal of Family Hope Center is to eliminate a service gap in the community and to stop homelessness. “The need in our community is huge,” said Michelle Frets, executive director of Vine Maple Place, “On average we get 90 phone calls a month. We were able to bring in 30 families and wanted to see that gap reduced.” Capacity at the Center addresses seven areas: 1. Expanded youth and children’s spaces targeted to prevent, mitigate, and heal from the impact of toxic stress. The new child and youth area increases the amount of dedicated space at Vine Maple Place by approximately 329% – from the current 700 square feet to 3,000 square feet. It provides space for mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and critical development services. The expansion allows increases in the number of children and youth served from an estimated 460 in 2018 to at least 990 in 2020. 2. By increasing capacity, the aim is to expand services to more than just single parent families. The plan is to serve at least 1,440 people by 2020. 3. Provide increased space for dedicated mental health services for moms and kids to foster healing and emotional development. 4. Maintain a rate of 90% of families that remain housed one year after exiting the program, even as the number of families served by Vine Maple Place grows. 5. Provide dedicated space for housing stability services focused on removing housing barriers and improving landlord relationships. 6. Expand training and education space to provide resources for learning new skills that equip families to achieve stability and self-sufficiency. 7. Increase training space for the community volunteer force needed to support Vine Maple Place programs, alongside the dedicated staff.
Vine Maple Place views the current situation as, “unacceptable for a mom and child to sleep in a car or shelter and experience the toxic devastation and impact of being homeless.” In 2017 alone, prior to opening Family Hope Center, Vine Maple Place received over 1,045 calls from families seeking assistance. “We were forced to turn away 88% of those who called us looking for help because we were simply out of space,” said Frets.
According to census data, there are nearly 3,000 households in the organization’s service area (a nine-mile radius including Maple Valley, Covington, Black Diamond, Kent, Auburn and Renton) that have very low incomes and are at high risk of losing their housing. Without help, 10% of those families, on average, would become homeless. “Every single day, we are driven to prevent and to end homelessness among these families. And yet, the burgeoning need in our community exceeded our capacity. In spite of the tremendous 894% increase in the number of families served by Vine Maple Place over the past six years, it was still not enough to close the service gap in our community,” Frets said.
