when shelters are full: how mobile outreach fills critical gaps in family services

Every day, the King County Family Intake Line, operated by Mary’s Place, receives an average of  50-60 calls from families seeking a safe place to come inside. Unfortunately, across all the shelters in the county, there’s only space for two to three families to come inside; the rest must spend another night outside in their car, tent, or an encampment. 

But for the families still outside, hope isn’t lost thanks to Mary’s Place mobile outreach team and our community partners. 

A July 2024 panel discussion brought together Mary’s Place outreach team members and partner organizations to share this important work. 

“Our goal, at its root, is simple,” shared Jessica Safley, Outreach Director at Mary’s Place, “meet families wherever they are—geographically and emotionally—and walk alongside them on their journey back to stability. Our  team hits the road daily, meeting families in cars, tents, and encampments. Our first step when we meet a family is always to listen and let them know we see them, and they are not alone. Our team is compassionate and consistent, building a foundation of trust with families that allows us to work closely with them to assess their needs and make a plan for the path forward.”  

Referrals to the outreach team come in from community members, hospitals, schools, and even the families themselves through our outreach request portal or the King County Family Intake Line (206-245-1026). “If we hear there’s a family in need, we go to them, meeting them where they feel comfortable, typically within a few hours,” says Jessica. 

Our outreach team members arrive with food and tents, along with prepaid phones for receiving calls from prospective landlords or employers, diapers, hygiene kits, and a compassionate listening ear. From the first conversation, the focus is on identifying the family’s housing goals and obstacles, then working together to find a solution—that might mean paying off a small amount of housing debt to get a family back into an apartment, helping a mom and kids escaping domestic violence get to a relative in another state, or bringing a family into emergency shelter when possible while we work on a longer-term solution. “Our flexible funding allows us to help families in so many ways, from a plane ticket to get back to family in another state, to covering the deposit and move-in costs to get them over the hump and into an apartment that will fit their budget long-term. We have the flexibility to give families the help they truly need to gain stability, because no two situations are exactly the same.” 

Mary’s Place Popsicle Place Coordinator, Keianna, joined the conversation to share how the program provides specialized outreach services to families experiencing homelessness with medically fragile children. 

Too often, for families with children going through chemotherapy, transplant procedures, or other ongoing medical treatments, the weight of mounting medical bills can leave them choosing between providing care for their child or paying rent.  

Many families in the Popsicle Place program have left jobs and housing behind for their child’s treatment. That’s where staff like Keianna step in. The Popsicle Place team connects directly with families at hospitals, coordinating with social workers and care teams to prevent families from being discharged into homelessness. 

“When a child is healing, home is the best place, and we work really hard to prevent families from being discharged into homelessness,” Keianna shared. “But when a permanent home isn’t an option right away, we work to make shelter as supportive and prepared as possible.” 

Keianna shared the story of Jane, a mom who moved to Seattle from the Tri-Cities for her daughter’s treatment at Seattle Children’s Hospital. When extended care forced them into debt and eviction, they found a temporary stay at Ronald McDonald House. From there, Mary’s Place connected with Jane, helped resolve her housing debt, and assisted the family in moving into a new home.

“The partnerships we have with community organizations, and with area hospitals, schools, libraries, community centers, and clinics, are essential to not just the success of the Popsicle Place program, but our Outreach team as a whole,” added Jessica.  

One such partner organization is Vine Maple Place, which serves single-parent families in South Seattle. “We serve over 1,400 single-parent families each year—both families currently homeless and those on the edge,” shared Kyle Serquinia, Vine Maple Place’s Housing Stability Director.  

Vine Maple Place collaborates closely with Mary’s Place to enhance support coordination. The organizations share information, flexible funding, and resources, ensuring families get faster help and nobody falls through the cracks. “By partnering closely, we’re speeding up housing placements and serving even more families efficiently and equitably,” shared Kyle. 

People have a lot of questions about both the causes of homelessness and the barriers that families are facing in getting back into housing stability. 

“A lot of families in our area are extremely rent burdened,” shared Jessica. “When 50-70% of your income is going to rent, that doesn't give you any wiggle room. In King County and across the nation, we’re seeing the cost of rent, groceries, diapers, and everything else increase, while wages remain stagnant. When something goes wrong for an extremely rent-burdened family, like a broken-down car or an unexpected bill, that one event can completely blow their budget and cause a missed rent payment.” 

Kyle echoed Jessica’s response and added that helping families reach a point where they’re earning a livable income is a key component of wraparound services. “Some of the families we serve have been through so much trauma and the hope is just gone,” he said, “it’s our hope that through some of the career development services we offer, and by partnering with other organizations and community members, we can remind families that their goals are attainable and there are people and resources here to support them.” 

Listening to families, honoring their choices, and helping them build a sustainable life—that’s how our outreach team not just helps families return to housing, but truly helps them thrive. “At the end of the day, this work isn’t just about responding to homelessness. It’s about responding to humanity—with urgency, with mobility, and with love,” concluded Jessica. 

Want to hear more from Jessica, Kyle, and Keianna? Check out the panel discussion recording: