YWCA's new center to assist homeless

Life on the streets is a grim reality that Tanah Burkhardt can finally leave behind.

As the YWCA's new $29 million center for homeless women, Opportunity Place, opens its doors today for a community reception, women like Burkhardt are that much closer to starting life in their own apartments.

"Nobody grows up thinking, gee, I want to be homeless one day," the 38-year-old said. "The only thing (the women) are lacking is self-esteem."

Burkhardt left Albuquerque, N.M., for Seattle a few years ago with nothing but a desire to escape her abusive family home. She picked Seattle by throwing a dart at a map, knowing only that a few of her favorite bands came from here.

But rather than escape abuse, she found more. After a string of abusive relationships, she found shelter at the YWCA Angeline's Day Center, where she continues to receive support.

"I don't worry about anybody hurting me while I'm here," Burkhardt said.

But a few years ago Angeline's began exceeding its 75-women capacity and began turning women away.

"Homeless women on the streets is simply unacceptable," said Sue Sherbrooke, YWCA deputy executive director.

Construction on the YWCA Opportunity Place, at 2024 Third Ave. in Belltown, began October 1999, funded through a capital campaign that raised $42.7 million in donations from foundations, organizations and individuals. Of that, $29 million went to the new seven-story women's center and the balance helped develop services for women in Renton, Everett and East King County.

The 105,000-square-foot center's first floor houses the YWCA Angeline's Center for Homeless Women, which replaces the old center across the street. It has double the capacity of the original, offering homeless women a place to shower, eat and relax during the day. Health services and counseling are also available.

The center opens officially on Thanksgiving Day, and unlike the old one, which was only open by day, it can accommodate 25 women overnight.

A career-resource center for homeless or unemployed men and women takes up the second floor. Above that are five floors of affordable housing. Burkhardt can live in one of the 105 studio or 40 one-bedroom apartments when the center is fully functional by the end of the year.

Each apartment has new mattresses and bed frames with drawers for storage, a fully equipped kitchen, dinette, recliner, colorful rugs and lamps. A wall-to-wall window, some with views of downtown, fills the rooms with light and scenery.

Private and corporate donors helped secure most of the items in the rooms. "People rise to the level of their surroundings," Sherbrooke said.

The housing is geared for homeless women and women earning less than $16,350 a year, with tenants paying 30 percent of whatever they earn. Lengths of stay vary depending on a woman's circumstances, said Liz Mills, YWCA Opportunity Place director.

For Burkhardt, being on her own will help her move away from abusive men and build self-confidence.

"I'm not going to be worth a damn to somebody if I'm not worth a damn to myself." Maria Gonzalez: 206-464-2449 or mgonzalez@seattletimes.com