ACAU Proposed Sleep Center

The ACAU is actively working with our Steering Committee to locate and purchase appropriate land for the Sleep Center. We are modeling after the Walla Walla Project which is pictured below.

What is a sleep center?

Based on examples from Walla Walla and Moses Lake, ACAU is working to establish an overnight “sleep center” to provide shelter space. Typically, these sleep centers are located on vacant lots with units, such as small sheds or Conestoga-style huts, which can house one to two persons depending on the situation. The site will include mobile administration and shared restroom/shower facilities as well.

Sleep centers are a managed overnight safe sleeping space protected from the elements. One conestoga-style hut can house 1-2 people, providing privacy, safety, and dignity to people experiencing homelessness. A sleep center can provide connection to wrap around services to guests to address unmet basic needs.

In addition to providing a safe sleeping space protected from the elements, the goal of these facilities is to provide information and connections for “wrap around” services for guests to address their employment, behavioral health, and substance abuse issues. ACAU and its partners hope to utilize the sleep center to help transition folks experiencing homelessness to more permanent housing solutions.

The individual units provide privacy, safety and dignity and have less risk of spreading communicable diseases (like COVID) compared to a congregate (large room) shelter design.

Common Questions

Who can stay at the sleep center?

Anyone who is at least 18 years old and experiencing homelessness
Some residents are employed, but at jobs that do not support the high cost of housing.
Some have disabilities or mental illnesses that make normal employment difficult

What about folks under 18?

Services for children or families will be referred to appropriate resources like Family Promise, Youth Resource Center, and YWCA.

How will folks get from one place to another?

Public Transit
Volunteers
Service Providers
Walking Distance

Sleep Centers Benefits

Wrap Around Services

A sleep center offers wrap-around services to address any need the resident may have. These include services to get people back on their feet or address any barriers preventing an individual getting housed.

Successes of Walla Walla Sleep Center
In 2022, Walla Walla: Served 183 unduplicated individuals, 117 of them stayed at least 14 nights, 19,222 total nights of care, 37 individuals were assisted into better situations. With their help: 23% of people staying at the Center have gotten their identification or Social Security cards, 17% are working part time, 26% have moved into permanent housing. Before the increase in operating hours and specialists were put onsite, only 10% of the population of the Center was engaged in support services. Now 67% of people staying there are engaged, said Craig Volwiler, vice president of the Alliance for the Homeless

Other places with similar setups

Walla Walla, Moses Lake, Hermiston, Sweet Home, OR, Ellensburg, and Eugene, OR. Walla Walla worked with numerous others as well like Tri-Cities, Yakima, and Aberdeen, among others

Costs and Funding

Where will the money come from?

Local Document Recording Fees from the County that are designated to address homelessness
Fundraising efforts and Donors through the Asotin County Alliance for the Unhoused
Grants

Average cost of a sleep center v.s.

Cost of a night in jail if someone has to be trespassed: $72
Cost of someone staying one night at Walla Walla Sleep Center: $11.60