Category: OurImpact

The Health and Hygiene Center exceeded its goal of serving 750 people in its first year of operations half-way through 2025. What does this mean for Whatcom County’s housing crisis?

When The Way Station opened in November 2024, it aimed to meet a basic but urgent need in Whatcom County: access to hygiene services, health care, and medical respite for people experiencing homelessness. In the months since, more than 1,000 individuals have accessed those services — a number that reflects the scale of the housing crisis facing our community.

The idea for The Way Station began in 2018, when Bellingham’s Homeless Strategies Workgroup identified a facility offering showers, laundry, and support services as a top community priority. Local health care providers and social service agencies saw the need firsthand. Unity Care NW and PeaceHealth were regularly working with patients who had no safe or stable place to go after a hospital stay, or who struggled to manage chronic health issues while living outdoors or in shelters.

After years of planning and pandemic-related delays, The Way Station opened in late 2024 through a partnership between Unity Care NW, Opportunity Council, PeaceHealth, and Whatcom County Health and Community Services. In May 2025, the facility expanded to include medical respite services — short-term stays for individuals recovering from medical procedures or illnesses who would otherwise be discharged to the street.

Today, The Way Station offers a range of services under one roof:

• Unity Care NW provides medical and behavioral health care, substance use disorder treatment, case management, and operates the hygiene center, which includes showers, laundry, and restrooms.
• Opportunity Council oversees the medical respite program and provides housing case management.
• PeaceHealth supplies meals and coordinates medical respite referrals.
• Whatcom County Health and Community Services supports complementary programs based on-site, including Ground-Level Response and Coordinated Engagement (GRACE), Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), and EMS coordination.

Unity Care NW initially expected to serve about 750 individuals in the facility’s first year. That number was surpassed in just six months. As of July, more than 1,000 people have used services at The Way Station — a clear reflection of the growing number of people in Whatcom County living without housing and without access to basic care.

While The Way Station is not a solution to homelessness, it plays an essential role in the community’s response. Offering critical services, restoring dignity, and helping people stabilize their health while working toward finding a home, The Way Station is one piece of a broader effort to expand health care access in Whatcom County to a population of people left behind by the housing crisis – a population that is significant and growing.

Take a virtual tour of The Way Station and consider making a donation to support these crucial resources.

Son holding father’s hand at the hospital

Homelessness has been on the rise across the country since 2016[1]. In places like Whatcom County, the lack of available housing makes homelessness an even more prevalent and visible issue. Most Washingtonians can relate to the sense that housing opportunities are becoming further and further out of reach. The economics of post-pandemic life and the high cost of living in our region have deepened financial worries for everyone. As inflation and interest rate changes threaten to worsen the housing market and exacerbate challenges for small business owners, economic tensions lead to stress that can result in conflict. Negative interactions between housed and unhoused people are particularly discouraging for anyone hoping we can come together as a community to end homelessness.

Organizations that work to provide services to people experiencing homelessness have unique insight into this public health crisis. Unity Care NW (UCNW), a local non-profit community health center, provides comprehensive health care to people who may otherwise be unable to afford it. Their staff see firsthand, the negative health impacts of homelessness on their patients. Many have symptoms of trauma and are made sicker by their lack of access to basic hygiene facilities. With 15% of UCNW’s patients experiencing homelessness – compared to an average of 8% at other community health centers nationwide — UCNW resolved to demonstrate its conviction that everyone who can do something to combat homelessness must do something.

This launched a partnership for UCNW with PeaceHealth, Whatcom County, and Opportunity Council to better serve the health and hygiene needs of people experiencing homelessness in Whatcom County. The result of this collaboration, a new facility called The Way Station, will provide shower, laundry, and restroom facilities, as well as respite beds for people experiencing a medical event who have nowhere to recuperate. The Way Station will also connect clients to Unity Care NW’s mental health and substance use disorder treatment and Opportunity Council’s housing support services.

The facility will be housed in the County-owned building at 1500 N State Street. Renovations are scheduled to begin in early 2023, with hopes of opening in fall of 2023.

Empathy is the Answer

While researching successful hygiene center models, The Way Station partners visited Urban Rest Stop in Seattle. A common theme in conversations with experts on the issue of homelessness has been the power of dignity to restore hope and create pathways out of homelessness. “The Urban Rest Stop has allowed me to clean up in order to help me get employment,” one client said in a testimonial. “They have treated me fairly and with dignity. Without these services, it would have been infinitely more difficult to improve my situation.” The Way Station will model the empathetic, trauma-informed approach that Unity Care NW has been using to effectively engage with patients and neighbors including those experiencing homelessness.

UCNW recently brought Ryan Dowd, the Executive Director of the second largest homeless shelter in America, to train its staff in using empathy-driven approaches to compassionately and effectively de-escalate situations and manage conflict. UCNW also partnered with the City of Bellingham, Bellingham Public Library, and the Mount Baker Theatre to offer this same training to more than 800 staff from local businesses and nonprofits. Empathy doesn’t mean excusing and accepting all of a person’s negative behaviors, it just asks that we approach others with awareness that their unique experience and biology impact their way of moving through the world. This can make all the difference for a person on the journey out of homelessness.

A person doesn’t need to be specially trained to help in the fight against homelessness and an organization doesn’t have to be focused on social services to contribute to addressing the housing crisis. Everyone one can do something to move the needle on homelessness. Unity Care NW is excited to deepen its own commitment to disrupting the cycle of homelessness. Partnering on The Way Station, with a trauma-informed and empathetic approach, will work to remove barriers to basic health and hygiene needs and help more people get into permanent housing.

To find out more about The Way Station or to get involved, go to unitycarenw.org/health-and-hygiene

[1] Source: The 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. January 2021. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

After spending 11 years on dialysis, Garron was finally eligible to join the kidney transplant list. It was a moment of hope, but his excitement quickly turned to concern when he learned that before he could move forward, he needed to be in the best health possible — including having no dental cavities.

While Garron’s Medicare plan covered much of his kidney care, it didn’t include dental treatment. Unfortunately, Garron had multiple cavities and couldn’t afford the dental care he needed. Faced with this barrier, Garron feared his chance at a life-saving transplant was slipping away.

Thankfully, a friend encouraged Garron to reach out to Unity Care NW. His spirits lifted when he discovered he qualified for our Sliding Fee Discount Program, which made his dental care affordable. With his cavities treated and oral health restored, Garron could proceed with his transplant journey.

Today, Garron is cavity-free and thriving with a new kidney. He recently shared with our team how relieved and deeply grateful he felt for the care he received at Unity Care NW.

How the 340B Program Makes a Difference

Lifesaving care like this is made possible by the 340B program. This federal program allows health centers like Unity Care NW to purchase medications at a discount, reinvesting the savings into vital services for our patients. At Unity Care NW, these savings fund comprehensive services such as medical, dental, pharmacy, mental health, substance use treatment, and case management.

At Unity Care NW, we know that health can’t wait. Everyone deserves the opportunity to live their healthiest life, and the 340B program is vital in ensuring that financial challenges don’t stand in the way of quality care and better health outcomes.