After announcing earlier this year that it would shutter its housing program, Interfaith Coalition has partnered with Opportunity Council to continue providing its housing units to those in need in Whatcom County.
In February, the Interfaith Coalition announced to its members that it would shut down its housing program due to costs, drug use and other challenges. Options on the table included finding a partner to operate the housing (at the time, no nonprofits had agreed) and selling the properties.
Things have changed, now, as Interfaith launches its “Sharing Our Homes” program — Interfaith owns and maintains the homes, while other organizations handle case management and some property management duties. Opportunity Council will now do this for six of Interfaith’s 10 units.
New Executive Director Eileen M. Harrington said the houses will also be part of Interfaith’s ongoing and future programs — including its holiday gift drive and food programs. Active since 1981, Interfaith Coalition has united faith communities in Whatcom County to provide services to people without stable housing.
One of Interfaith’s remaining four units currently houses a Ukrainian refugee family, Harrington said, and Interfaith is seeking another nonprofit partner to work with on the other three units (ideally to house more refugees).
Opportunity Council Executive Director Greg Winter said Interfaith and the Opportunity Council “jointly” decided that partnering on these houses would be a good idea after Interfaith hosted some of Opportunity Council’s tenants this summer when one of their properties was undergoing renovations.
“Even though it’s only six units, these are six precious units in our community,” Winter said.
Drug contamination — one of the major, expensive issues that prompted the February change of course — still happens in the houses, Harrington said, but Interfaith hopes the partnership with Opportunity Council will allow Interfaith to address issues earlier by inspecting the houses more regularly.
“It can happen to anyone, anywhere. There’s no shame in being an addict,” she said. “It’s just that contamination damages our houses more and maybe if we can help catch it early, we can help that person get treatment.”
Harrington said she keeps hearing from people involved in Interfaith that housing is the “heart” of what people want from the nonprofit.
“We love our houses because nobody would dream that these folks were struggling,” she said. “We’re providing them high-quality houses. They get to look around and go, ‘I deserve this.'”
Chair of the Board Susan Jancic, who has been involved with Interfaith for 15 years, said it’s an “exciting time” for the coalition.
She called collaboration and partnership the “future” of Interfaith, particularly with Interfaith Coalition’s 40-plus faith communities. “Faith communities are what brought Interfaith into being,” she said. “They [play] a vital role in our volunteer work and in our support and vice versa.”
Harrington has seen a drop in volunteers over the last year, she said, so Interfaith is looking to better engage its faith communities and outside groups.
Coffee and Sandwiches Together (CAST), an Interfaith Coalition program that provides free meals to homeless people in downtown Bellingham on certain weekdays, is also expanding to five nights a week in downtown Bellingham. They’re seeking more volunteers to do so.
“Interfaith is alive and well, and we are doing housing,” Harrington said. “We’re just doing it in a way that is really much more effective for the folks living in our houses.”
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
