Salmon Bay Village RV Safe Lot Celebration

Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director welcoming guests

On October 15th, LIHI hosted a press event at Salmon Bay Village, a recreational vehicle (RV) safe parking program and tiny house village located at 3435 15th Ave. W Seattle in the Interbay neighborhood. LIHI was joined by King County Regional Housing Authority (KCRHA) Chief Program Officer Irene Agustin, former Real Change News Executive Director Tim Harris, UHeights Vehicle Resident Outreach Programs Manager Jen Manlief, Therapeutic Health Services Chief Development and Marketing Officer Ken Schlegel, and Rebecca Duran, representing Seattle City Council Member Bob Kettle.

Salmon Bay Village provides a combination of tiny houses and safe parking for those living in RVs. The goal of the RV Safe Lot is to encourage vehicle residents to leave their unsafe RVs and move temporarily into a tiny house while working with case managers to secure permanent housing. The village provides access to running water, clean bathroom facilities, a shared kitchen, on-site services, access to behavioral health services and more. The religious sponsor of the village is Dr. Rev. Robert Jeffrey of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church. 

"Innovative programs like Salmon Bay Village are how we make meaningful change in our city, and break the cycles that keep people homeless. Thanks to this comprehensive program bringing housing and services together, more people escaped living in unsafe dilapidated RV's and found a pathway toward stability and housing," said District 7 City Council Member Bob Kettle.

LIHI contracts with UHeights Center’s Vehicle Resident Outreach team in identifying RV dwellers to enroll in the RV Safe Lot program. “This innovative pilot program is widely successful. Seattle has a blueprint for other cities to replicate,” said Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director. In just 6 months, 27 rundown RVs have been decommissioned and disposed of permanently. 

Tim and Angel, former Salmon Bay Clients and now LIHI's Good Shepherd residents

Former clients of Salmon Bay Village, Tim and Angel (names changed to protect confidentiality), shared their story on their experience being homeless and enrolling in the Safe Lot program. “We had our own apartment but we lost it in a fire. Since then we have been living in an RV for 5 ½ years. We arrived at Salmon Bay Village 2 ½ months ago and are now housed at LIHI’s Good Shepherd House in Seattle. We love it! One of the best things about our place is having case managers onsite. It’s the little things: our little money goes further because we get to cook in our kitchen, take showers, and the building has free laundry. We feel at home,” they said.

Former Real Change News Executive Director and Homeless Advocate Tim Harris spoke on how he has witnessed clients come from a place of isolation and hopelessness to being part of a community where they learn to value themselves and see the potential of their own lives. “Being homeless is fundamentally dehumanizing,” he said. 

Salmon Bay Village is operating at full capacity and 53 people have been served. Currently there are 40 clients, 22 dogs and 3 cats living in 15 RVs and 11 tiny houses. This program has a 62.5% success rate of people securing permanent housing after moving out. We look forward to many more successful placements.

Jen Manlief, Vehicle Resident Programs Manager of UHeights