Urgent Help

Subsidized housing resident with an after-hours emergency

Most of our subsidized housing has an after-hours number you can call if an emergency takes place outside of work hours. (For a life-threatening issue involving fire, flood, or injury, always call 911). After-hours emergencies include but not limited:

Olympia

For after-hours emergencies at Casa Madrona, call (206) 368‑4013.

Experiencing homelessness

Shelter and crisis

KCHA does not provide emergency housing or shelter for people experiencing homelessness. For homelessness services, please contact the Regional Homelessness Authority or call 211.

For students in K-12 or college

For college students experiencing homelessness, KCHA has a partnership with Highline College to provide temporary rental assistance through the While In School Housing (WISH) program.

For families of K-12 students, the Student and Family Stability Initiative (SFSI) is a partnership with the Highline and Tukwila School Districts and the nonprofit Neighborhood House to provide short-term rental assistance and eviction prevention along with case management, financial counseling and employment navigation for families experiencing homelessness. Students must be enrolled in the Highline or Tukwila school districts.

For homeless veterans

Working with the United States departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, KCHA administers over 850 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) Housing Choice vouchers for homeless veterans and their families. These vouchers provide permanent housing and case management supports for eligible homeless Veterans and their families.

To learn more about these vouchers and other VA and community housing programs, call 877-424-3838. Veterans can also obtain a voucher program referral from a case manager in another VA program, from a community-based program, or locally through King County’s Coordinated Entry system.

In addition to the voucher program, two other agencies also have programs for veterans:

• King County Veterans Program
• Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs

For homeless single adults, young adults, couples, and families

King County’s Coordinated Entry program serves all people experiencing homelessness, connecting them to the housing support services and resources that best meet their needs.

Please contact Coordinated Entry if you are: 

• Living and sleeping outside.
• Sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation.
• Staying in a shelter or transitional housing.
• Fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence. This means you or your family are afraid to return to your home, or are experiencing dangerous or life threatening conditions at home. This may be related to abuse, stalking, dating violence, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, other physical assault, or human trafficking.
• Leaving a jail, prison, a psychiatric hospital, medical hospital, or a drug/alcohol treatment program where you lived for up to 90 days – and you were in shelter or a place not meant for human habitation immediately prior to entering that institution.

The Coordinated Entry website has more information about what to do next. For other crisis response resources, call 211.

Experiencing domestic violence

Call or text for help

Call or text the DVHopeline at 206-737-0242.

The hopeline operates 24/7, but from 10pm-6am their lines are forwarded to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. During this time, they are unable to answer chats.

You can call the DVHopeline in any language and they will provide an interpreter. Chats are only available in English.

For more resources, programs, and safety plans, visit DVHopeline.org.

Violence Against Women Act

If you qualify for housing assistance and are or have been the victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, then you have additional rights under the Violence Against Women Act, in the PDF linked below.

This document includes two forms:

• VAWA Notice (HUD-5380): Explains your housing rights under the Violence Against Women Act, including protections from eviction, how to request an emergency transfer, and how your information will be kept confidential.
• VAWA Certification (HUD-5382): A form you can use to certify that you or a household member is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

VAWA Notice and Certification Forms: English, አማርኛ, العربية, 中文, فارسی, ខ្មែរ, 한국어, Русский, Soomaali, Español, ትግርኛ, Українська, Tiếng Việt

Experiencing a mental health crisis

Call or text for help

Call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or call the Regional Crisis Line at 866-427-4747.

Both hotlines are available every hour of every day.

You can call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in any language and they will provide an interpreter (where the connection typically takes about 20 seconds). There are also Spanish-speaking counselors. For more information, view their FAQs.

For more resources and programs, visit 988lifeline.org or crisisconnections.org.

Go to a crisis care center

A “crisis care center” is a place to go 24-hours a day/7-days a week to get help for a wide range of crises related to mental health or drug and alcohol use issues. King County will open five crisis care centers across the county for anyone to walk-in anytime for help. The first center is now open in Kirland and all five centers, including one for youth, will open by 2030. For more information visit: kingcounty.gov/crisis-care-centers

Connections Health Solutions’ crisis care center opened in summer 2024 in Kirkland. The center includes a behavioral health urgent care clinic that anyone 18 years or older can walk in to receive help in a crisis, plus a full range of mental health and substance use services and treatment onsite. connectionshs.com/nkc

Youth Urgent Care at Connections Kirkland (ages 4–17): Support for non-emergency crises, including depression, panic attacks, substance use, medication management, and more is free for all youth in King County. Open 11 a.m.–7 p.m. Call: 425-650-3896 or schedule online.

Being evicted or losing housing support

Get eviction-related support

People facing eviction can contact the Housing Justice Project by email at hjpstaff@kcba.org.

Get help with rent

Go to United Way King County to determine eligibility and apply for rental assistance in King County.