CFTH recently closed on the purchase of a retail property at 7723 NE Fourth Plain in Vancouver

Just as the Council for the Homeless (CFTH) is committed to finding homes for people experiencing homelessness, the executive team of the organization has also been looking for a new home for its dedicated staff and essential service delivery. CFTH staff are proud to announce that the search for its everyone-under-one-roof home has met with success.

CFTH recently closed on the purchase of a retail property at 7723 NE Fourth Plain, Vancouver. Thanks to financial support from the Firstenburg Foundation, and public and private grants, improvements will begin soon so that, in the future, every CFTH employee will eventually work from a single location. The move-in date has yet to be determined, but employees will likely relocate there in phases as renovations are completed. 

Currently, CFTH staff of 40 are working from offices in the Vancouver Housing Authority building in Uptown Vancouver, the CFTH Housing Solutions Center on NE Andresen, and from home.

“This new location not only brings us all under one roof in a healthful and productive way but places us in a central location to address the homeless and housing instability crisis in Clark County. The people served by CFTH will benefit from having one location to visit for assistance, thus avoiding confusion between our two current offices,” states Sesany Fennie-Jones, CFTH executive director.

Clark County’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis has prompted CFTH and other social service organizations to increase their number of staff. “As our organization grew, we had to find dispersed office space for the expanded workforce,” says Fennie-Jones. “When COVID hit, we were already in two locations that were not close to each other. The pandemic forced many staff to shelter in place at home. Some staff continue to work at home due to our lack of office space. For many, their job is helping people who are badly traumatized. When staff are in the office, they are in a supportive environment while helping people in crisis and staff have separation between work life and home life. With our single headquarters facility, they can leave that trauma at work and return home to their serenity.

Financial support for the building purchase came in the form of loans and grants. CFTH will launch a campaign to fundraise to pay off loans and ensure long-term organizational infrastructure and sustainability.

About Council for the Homeless: Council for the Homeless (CFTH) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Clark County, WA., by providing community leadership, compelling advocacy and practical solutions to solve homelessness on an individual and community level. Founded in 1989, CFTH serves as the lead agency and coordinated entry for delivery of homeless services through the Continuum of Care for Homeless Services in Clark County, WA.