Everett New Start Center celebrated at opening event
EVERETT, Wash., August 28, 2026 – About 100 people gathered Friday to celebrate the opening of the Everett New Start Center.
The center at 1602 SE Everett Mall Way is operated by The Salvation Army and will provide time-limited bridge housing along with 24/7 on-site staffing and wraparound services such as behavioral health support, connections to medical and dental care, assistance with employment and benefits, life skills development, and connections to permanent housing.
During the opening event, guests toured the center, which is a former motel purchased by Snohomish County in 2022. Up to 73 residential rooms are available at the location. The purchase and renovation were made possible by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) along with county Affordable Housing and Behavioral Health funds from a dedicated portion of local sales tax. That project is coming in on budget at a little under $22 million including purchase and renovations. Ongoing operations are supported with a mix of local and federal housing funds.
Speakers at the opening event talked about how the New Start Center will change lives and how it fits into broader strategies for reducing homelessness. The full remarks will be available to view early next week at www.snocotv.org.
“We’ve heard clearly from the community that they want us to focus on programs and projects that can help people early on, before they find themselves in worse circumstances that cost them and the public more. By helping people stabilize and get out of homelessness, we make an immediate impact on that person’s life and a long-term impact on our community.”
- Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers
“When I think about what this building means, I think about it in two ways. For the person who is going to walk through that door, it means a bed, a case manager who knows their name, and for the first time in a while a room to just think past tonight. It also means something for this whole community. For every individual who moves from living without shelter into stable housing, it’s one less person cycling through our emergency room, one less person our first responders have to worry about where they’re sleeping at night, one more person to show up for a job just a few blocks from here in either retail or restaurants. This is how our community gets stronger. Helping one person at a time until it adds to something bigger.”
- Snohomish County Council Chair Megan Dunn
“It's easy to define someone by the challenge they are facing, but we are called to see the person first. To see their dignity, to see their potential, to meet them where they are, and to walk alongside of them as they move toward something better. And that’s what excites us about the New Start Center. Not simply that it is a new building to us, but that it represents new opportunities for the people who will come through these doors."
- Lt. Colonel Kelly Pontsler, The Salvation Army
“For people working to move out of homelessness, transitional housing can be that bridge between crisis and stability. It gives people a safe place to land, a door they can lock behind them, and a safe respite to rest and renew, and access to the services and support they need to take that next step toward permanent housing. It’s investments like the New Start Center here today that are going to make the real difference in the fight to end homelessness.”
- Everett City Council Vice President Paula Rhyne
“Today isn’t just the opening of a building. We are opening a place where someone can sleep safely and begin working toward permanent housing. This is the culmination of a community that has invested in possibility. Today, hope has another address in Everett.”
- Captain Gin Pack, The Salvation Army
There are now two Snohomish County New Start Centers. The Edmonds New Start Center opened in June.
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(Ribbon cutting photo from left to right) Snohomish County Human Services Director Mary Jane Brell-Vujovic, Salvation Army Lt. Colonel Kelly Pontsler, Salvation Army Captain Gin Pack, Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, Snohomish County Council Chair Megan Dunn, Everett City Council Vice President Paula Rhyne, and Snohomish County Councilmember Strom Peterson.
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