I.  Purpose

 

This evaluation report provides a summary of the programs, services, and partnerships linking the Anacortes Family Center (AFC) to clients and the community.

 

II.  Methodology for The Emergency Shelter Program Analysis

 

The program's effectiveness is measured by how well it fulfills AFC’s mission and goals. The Anacortes Family Center Emergency Shelter seeks to support homeless women, children, and families experiencing crisis by providing both shelter and transformative services that promote lasting personal success and independence. The shelter’s main objective is to help clients achieve self-sufficiency by the end of their stay.

 

Heather Rudolph collaborated with the Anacortes Family Center staff to compile this report, drawing data from confidential case files about clients served in 2025. This information was used specifically for review and analysis. Each household’s file included additional detailed case management notes that were not considered in this evaluation.

 

This review covers records of clients who left the Emergency Shelter program during the calendar year 2025. It includes individuals who started services in 2024 but exited in 2025; however, it does not include those who began services in 2025 without exiting by December 31, 2025.

 

A wide range of data was collected: client demographics; history of homelessness; experience with domestic violence; disabilities and health concerns; criminal background; employment status and income; challenges faced; services received; reasons for leaving; and places clients went after leaving the program.

 

We also monitored housing outcomes locally in Skagit County and nearby counties. Clients who successfully completed the program sometimes moved into AFC’s Family Transformation Center, The Landing Apartments, or The Launch Apartments. Additionally, one family was placed in one of our single-family residences on 31st Street.

These houses were a gift to AFC from Nancy Chapman, a generous and community-minded Anacortes resident who passed away in 2020. Deeply aware that many working people struggle to make ends meet, Nancy dedicated herself to helping others. She had a knack for spotting potential in local properties, fixing them up (often with her own hands!), and renting them below market rate. Over the years, these two homes served as safe, affordable places for caregivers and working families.

While AFC continues to rent the homes at affordable rates, we’re also developing plans for a future village-style housing project to create more affordable homes while staying in harmony with the neighborhood. 

 

AFC’s Emergency Shelter Program Summary

 

• 39 families comprised of 51 adults and 50 children for a total of 101 clients served.

• 8,836 safe bed nights were provided for our families.

• 87.2% of all households successfully completed the program.

• 75 days was the Average Length of Stay

• 79% of families remained in Skagit County after exiting AFC’s Emergency Shelter

• 57% of families exiting the AFC’s Emergency Shelter with a successful outcome received permanent housing at one of AFC’s four housing facilities.

• 74% of clients reported being diagnosed with a mental health condition.

• 28% of families were actively fleeing domestic violence, including 27.5% of all children.

• 15% of families had five or more household members. Three single moms each had four kids, two two-adult households with three kids, and one two-adult household with four kids.

• 41% of households utilized Emergency Room or ambulance services in the last six months.

• No Veterans or Seniors were served in 2025.

 

III.  Emergency Shelter Program - Summary and Highlights

 

IV.  Detailed Findings

 

A.  Demographics

 

In 2025, the Anacortes Family Center served 101 individual clients from 39 total households.

• 50 adults and 51 children were served.

• Adult clients were made up of 38 women (74.5%) and 12 men (25.5%).

• 50% of all clients were children under 18 years old.

• The average age of all adult clients was 36 years old.

• The average age of children was 6.8 years old.

• Five households had children one 1 year old or younger, 3 women were pregnant during their time at AFC, one woman was pregnant with her first child with a partner who left the program before completion. 

• We began collecting sexual identity status in 2024, and this year collected this data on all adults. 

  • 78% Heterosexual

  • 8% Bi-Sexual

  • 6% Prefer not to Answer

  • 6% Did not Answer

  • 2% Questioning/Unsure

The head of households for the 38 families identified the family’s race/ethnicity, and one family reported they did not know their race/ethnicity.

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The households were comprised of the following family units.  Single female clients without children comprised 31% of all households, representing a significant increase in this client population and overall decrease in total clients and safe bed nights.

 

• Single parent households - 46%

  • Single females with children – 16 families

  • Single males with children – 2 families

• Two partner households – 23%

  • 9 families

• Single adults – 31%

  • Single females – 12 households

  • Single male – 0

 

Coordinated Entry & Vulnerability Scoring:

 

When clients complete Coordinated Entry paperwork, a vulnerability score is assigned through the Skagit Housing Interest Pool Assessment (SHIPA) tool. This score is used by housing programs to identify and prioritize households with the highest level of need.

 

In 2025, clients entering AFC’s Emergency Shelter program had an average vulnerability score of 14, with scores ranging from 2 to 27.

 

*In 2025, Washington State implemented revisions to the SHIPA assessment tool that significantly shifted how households are prioritized for housing and Emergency Shelter placement. The updated scoring framework places greater emphasis on chronic health conditions, medical vulnerability, and length of homelessness. As a result, medically vulnerable households are now more heavily prioritized within the Coordinated Entry system.

 

Under the previous scoring model, households could receive additional points based on family size, with extra points assigned per dependent. The revised SHIPA tool reduces the weight of household.

 

composition. Caring for dependents now carries limited scoring potential, with a maximum of 5 points

 

in that category (including dependents under age five, CPS involvement, pregnancy, or newborn status).

 

These changes influence the profile of households being referred and prioritized. Increased emphasis on medical vulnerability may result in serving households with lower income potential and longer stabilization timelines.

 

Despite these changes, AFC’s experience and subjective data indicate that if a person has ties to Anacortes and can secure employment, when appropriate supports are provided, helps prevent households from progressing into chronic homelessness. By balancing vulnerability prioritization with stabilization readiness, AFC works to ensure resources are used effectively while preventing further long-term housing instability.

 

B.  Homelessness

 

All client households were classified as homeless when they applied to the Emergency Shelter program. Of these, 31 families representing 79.5% of our clients were unsheltered at entry, either living outdoors without any shelter or staying in unsuitable places like tents or cars. Families who weren't unsheltered were in temporary arrangements, such as participating in a motel voucher program and in urgent need of stable, long-term housing.

 

A significant number of our families have experienced chronic homelessness, defined as being homeless continuously for at least one year or having four or more episodes of homelessness within three years that total over one year. Twenty-six percent of households fit this description, and 38.5% experienced homelessness before turning 18. Additionally, one-third of those who were homeless as minors also report chronic homelessness as adults.

Past evictions present a major hurdle to finding permanent homes, with 13% of our households having gone through eviction. Addressing this and other obstacles is a key focus of our mandatory Rent Ready program.

 

AFC’s Rent Ready program helps clients overcome housing barriers by equipping them with the skills and resources needed to secure a home after finishing the program. The curriculum covers budgeting, identifying challenges, completing and tracking applications, understanding lease agreements, moving procedures, and neighborly conduct.

 

Ninety-two percent of families completed the Rent Ready program. Upon completion, clients receive a housing portfolio containing a rental resume, written explanations for rental issues (such as credit or criminal history), proof of income, reference letters, details about roommates and pets, proof of renters’ insurance, and a Rent Ready certificate. Many are proud to earn their completion certificate!

 

C.  Domestic Violence

 

Domestic violence affected 63% of our households at some point in their lives, and 27% were fleeing abuse when they entered the program. Fourteen children from 11 families, along with four single women, entered AFC while escaping domestic violence.

 

D.  Mental, Physical, and Substance Use Conditions

 

Many clients struggle with housing instability due to mental health, disabilities, and substance abuse.

 

• 80% of families have used or need mental health services and half report an official diagnosis.

• 46% have physical or developmental disabilities, with 67% saying this impacts their housing.

• 33% are recovering from substance use and 30% report they are in treatment.

 

Below are the reported physical and mental disabilities:

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Clients reported they were active in these community treatment programs:

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​​​​​E.  Criminal Behavior

 

Clients with criminal backgrounds often face extra challenges when trying to secure long-term housing, largely because subsidized housing applications require background checks. Certain felonies can make someone ineligible for assistance.

 

In 2025, the Coordinated Entry Intake forms changed how they ask about criminal history compared to previous years. The new data shows that 18% of families reported having police interaction three or more times within six months, while 5% said they had convictions or warrants that restrict their housing options.

 

In earlier years, the questions focused on whether anyone in the family had felonies or misdemeanors; for example, in 2024, 47% of families reported having such convictions.

 

F.  Employment, Income, and Budgeting

 

Clients in the Emergency Shelter receive intensive case management and support to help them find and keep jobs and improve their finances. Weekly Life Skills classes reinforce this assistance.

 

The AFC program prioritizes employment, as it leads to stable income and secure housing. The table below shows adult employment status and average earnings at enrollment and exit.

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In 2025, families reported income sources beyond earnings: SSDI (4), TANF (4), SSDI and Child Support (3 each), and Social Security (1).  Five families had no income at enrollment; three had none at exit.

 

G.  Client Identified Barriers and Learning Opportunities

 

Upon enrollment in the program, clients were given a list of barriers and topics they would like to learn more about.  The following table identifies the options and percentage of families that selected each item. Note that responses here may vary from those collected on the Vulnerability Survey since the documents are done separately and may lend to different responses.

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H.  Service Providers

 

The Emergency Shelter program offers referrals to local service providers. Seventeen households reported using these partner referrals in the following categories:

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I.  Reasons for Leaving Program

 

When households exit the Emergency Shelter program, case managers record their reason for leaving: completion, non-compliance, unmet needs, disagreement with rules, criminal activity/property destruction, unknown/disappeared, or other.  This year, 87.2% of households completed the program, while 12.8% left due to non-compliance or unmet needs.

 

J.  Destinations by Outcome

 

The case manager noted each household's exit destination and reason for leaving. Two families who left early still achieved a positive housing outcome by staying with family or friends.

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K.  Destinations for Families

 

We also tracked the geographic and physical locations of our families’ destinations upon exit. 

 

80% of all clients remained in Skagit County while 12.5% departed to other counties in Washington, one family moved out of state and two families left to unknown destinations.

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With the growth of our AFC housing facilities, we were able to house 42% of the families who successfully completed the Emergency Shelter Program in an AFC facility:

 

• Family Transformational Center – 17 families

• The Landing Apartments – 4 families

• The Launch Apartments – 1 family

• 31st Street House – 1 family

 

IV.  In Their Own Words…Accolades and Gratitude from our Clients!

 

1. Rachel & Karen, I just want to say "Thank you" from the bottom of my heart.  The support, encouragement and care you both brought to my life in the last month…just thank you. I'm obviously going to keep in touch, stay clean, and without anyone to distract me.

2. Really enjoyed the resilience classes and Cheyenne's class.

3. Can't think of any!  Any need I had was resolved in one way or another.  Very Supportive!

4. AFC offered me every resource available to me.

5. No AFC staff was very helpful with resources or pointing us I the right direction to find them.

6. I was provided all I needed while here between AFC and Samish (love emoji)

7. No, there were so many great resources that we utilized and that have helped my family tremendously!

8. Great program, very helpful

9. Um, nope, I'd say you guys covered it!  I wish you had more TB-2 buildings for more families.

10. I can't thank of any.  Thank you for everything!  I'm so thankful for everything!

11. The program offered all the resources we needed.

12. I was in shock at how many things AFC could help with.  It's an amazing program.

13. So many services were offered to us, we can't mention any that weren't

14. Honestly, everything offered were helpful and if I had questions, I had about things needed asking case management was the biggest help on finding answers and or solutions/suggestions.

15. All resources were very helpful.  My full appreciation for AFC and staff!

16. Thank you for being here and thank you for everything!

17. AFC is a wonderful program and have truly helped me at my lowest time in my life.

18. Helpful program, super strict rules that there are pros and cons to.

19. The AFC program helped me get ahead when I most needed the programs and assistance they provided helped me believe in myself and I accomplish what I alone couldn't

20. While I was not able to meet AFC standards, I accomplished many things necessary to my financial and working life due to the space and accommodations provided to me.

21. This program has helped in so many ways with out Rachel's help, I don't think we would have accomplished as much.

22. AFC is amazing and I'm so thankful for Rachel for all the support!

23. The program is wonderful, very helpful, and gives lots of resources for different things.  Great at helping to get out of homelessness providing a budget and helping you save!!  Big thank you to AFC for helping me and getting on my feet.  Thank you, Rachel, for supporting me through everything!

24. I am so grateful for my time here.  My daughter has benefited so much from her time here so far.  Thank you for everything.

25. There were all very kind, they tried to help me as best as they could and there wasn't anything I needed that wasn't provided.

26. AFC was the best decision we made without it I don't think we would have overcome barriers holding us back from suitable/steady housing.

27. I'll see you guys in 6 months!  Ya'll are wonderful.  Karen and Rachel, you are both angels and I love ya.  Thank you for caring for me.  It felt really good.

28. Love AFC, sad to say goodbye, will come back to visit :​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​