Rick Steves donates Trinity Place housing complex to YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish

LYNNWOOD, WA – Edmonds-based travel expert Rick Steves has donated ownership of a 24-unit apartment complex to YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish to provide stable housing for women and children experiencing homelessness in Snohomish County.

Steves purchased Trinity Place in 2005 and partnered with YWCA and Edmonds Noon Rotary to operate and support the housing program for the past twelve years.  While his original plan was to will the ownership to YWCA, Steves decided to instead make the donation much sooner. “In these unstable times, you never know what’s going to happen,” says Steves. “By gifting this now, YWCA gains the certainty that comes with ownership, and is in a better position to plan for their future.”

As housing prices in the region have risen, homelessness continues to challenge the community. Snohomish County has seen a 50-percent increase in unsheltered people since 2013, and more than 2,400 students in the county are reported to be experiencing homelessness. “I don’t think it’s particularly loving or saintly to house people,” Steves explains. “I just think it’s enlightened.”

“If not for Trinity Place, I’m afraid some of these women would be homeless,” says Mary Anne Dillon, YWCA Executive Director of Snohomish County Services. “Having reliable housing options like Trinity Place is not only crucial – it’s a matter of life and death for families in our community.”

In 2016, YWCA served 60 women and family members at Trinity Place. In addition to transitional housing, this donation will ensure YWCA can continue to provide direct services, including employment and educational assistance, legal advocacy, and on-site mental health care.

“If our country truly wants to be great, we need creative thinking connected with our hearts,” says Steves. “And it’s my hope that love and compassion can trump values of crass commercialism, greed, and ‘winners’ beating ‘losers.’”