Hope Starts Here Campaign

We completed the Capital Campaign in May 2022! From 2018 to 2022, LifeWire’s Board, Campaign Cabinet, and staff joined together with hundreds of generous donors to raise $15.75 million in private and public funds to purchase a 25-unit apartment complex and build a services office in one central location. The HSH apartments will provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and comprehensive onsite services for survivors who face the greatest safety risks and highest barriers to safe housing in our community.

Thank you to all of our amazing LifeWire donors for your vision, dedication, and generosity in creating a confidential, healing place for survivors of domestic violence and their children. 

The need:

  • LifeWire turns away one household for every one we serve with shelter or housing simply due to lack of capacity.
  • LifeWire expands our housing programs each year to close that gap, but survivors with the greatest DV risks and related barriers have specific needs that are not met through other programs. This campaign is especially for those families.
  • LifeWire’s emergency shelter program, currently housed in a commercial apartment complex, is at risk due to Bellevue’s rising rents.
  • LifeWire’s transitional housing program is a congregate living model, which lacks privacy and is no longer safe in a COVID-19 world. It is also located away from public transportation and amenities, reducing access to employment, education, and permanent housing.

The plan:

  • Relocate LifeWire’s emergency shelter and transitional housing programs to private apartments, including nine ADA-accessible apartments, in one central location with on-site services, newly-built community and services spaces, and easy access to transportation, community services, and amenities.
  • Serve approximately 25 additional families per year through expanded capacity and increased access to transportation and services, which will facilitate a quicker transition to permanent housing.
  • Provide emergency and transitional housing with a pathway to permanent housing, ensuring safety and access for hundreds of survivor families into the future.

Campaign timeline:

  • Renovation and construction started – June 2022
  • Renovations and construction completed – Spring 2023
  • First families moved in – Summer/Fall 2023
  • Services building completed – Summer/Fall 2023
  • Full occupancy – Fall 2023
Campaign impact
Our Partners
Capital campaign donors