ROOTS Young Adult Shelter

ROOTS Young Adult Shelter is hiring a Director of Development & Communication!

ROOTS is looking for someone who believes storytelling matters. Someone who can build relationships, inspire community support and our team, grow fundraising efforts, and help us continue expanding what’s possible for young adults experiencing homelessness in Seattle.

ROOTS is entering an exciting new chapter with our expanded facility coming fully online in the next year. We are growing services and have an ambitious vision for the future. This role will help shape that future alongside an incredible team of staff, volunteers, advocates, donors, and young people.

If you’re passionate about equity, community, communications, fundraising, and creating real impact, we would love to hear from you.
Please help us spread the word and share this with folks in your network who might be a great fit.

Apply Here: https://lnkd.in/gTFPnJvv

We’re excited to share that our brand new website is live. ✨

Designed with our guests, supporters, and community in mind, it offers a clearer look at our services, highlights resources and the incredible partners who help make this work possible, and makes it easier than ever to explore upcoming events and ways to get involved.

We invite you to click through and see our mission in action.

Visit: https://rootsinfo.org/

This year, ROOTS served 520 unique young adults experiencing homelessness, a 10.9% increase from the year before.

Behind that number are young people showing up night after night looking for something simple and urgent: a safe place to sleep.

The reality is that more young adults need support, and we remain committed to staying open, responsive, and present every single night.

Today is GiveBIG.

Your support helps ensure we can continue showing up for every young person who walks through our doors and work toward saying yes whenever they need us.

Give now: https://bit.ly/ROOTSGiveBig2026

One night this weekend, ROOTS had to turn away 16 young people seeking shelter.

That means 16 young adults were left without access to something as basic and essential as a roof, a bed, a shower, and a meal.

These are not small things. They are the foundation of safety, dignity, and the ability to move forward.

At ROOTS, we serve young adults ages 18 to 25 because we know this is a pivotal time. When young people have access to stable, supportive environments, they can build the tools they need to live independently and avoid long-term or chronic homelessness.

When those supports are not available, the consequences can follow them for years. Every young person deserves the chance to move forward.

is right around the corner. Your support helps us continue showing up, meeting growing needs, and working toward saying yes whenever possible.

Give now: https://bit.ly/ROOTSGiveBig2026

At ROOTS, meaningful support does not stop when the shelter doors close for the night.

One of our full-time Case Managers, Nina, was recently awarded a Young Grantmakers Award. This funding is helping us create opportunities for connection with our guests outside of shelter hours, where trust and community can continue to grow.

These experiences might look simple on the surface, but they are deeply impactful.

With this support, Nina has taken small groups of young adults:
• To a paint pottery studio
• Out for ice cream
• To see Project Hail Mary in theaters
• Out to play pool

These outings create space for young people to experience joy, build relationships, and feel a sense of belonging. For many, these are rare opportunities to just be young, without the weight of survival pressing in.

This is what community-driven, relationship-based care looks like.

As approaches, we invite you to be part of this work. Your support helps create moments like these that build trust, strengthen connections, and open doors to stability.

is May 5, and early giving is already underway. Every early gift helps us build toward our goal.

Give today: https://bit.ly/ROOTSGiveBig2026

We’re incredibly grateful to the Seattle Kraken players and the One Roof Foundation for showing up in a real way for young adults at ROOTS.

This story highlights something we see every day. When community steps in, it creates moments of connection, dignity, and belonging that matter just as much as basic needs.

For the young people we serve, it is not just about having a place to sleep. It is about being seen, supported, and reminded that they are part of a larger community that cares.

Thank you to Matty Beniers, Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Winterton, and the entire Kraken team for spending time with our guests and helping create a night that felt different. Nights like this stay with people.

Read more below 👇

https://www.nhl.com/kraken/news/matty-beniers-freddy-gaudreau-ryan-winterton-roots-young-adult-shelter-ft

Finding Shelter with Homeless Youth | Seattle Kraken Teammates Matty Beniers, Freddy Gaudreau and Ryan Winterton serve up burrito bowls and lively conversation, plus learn a lot, at young adult shelter for homeless in the University District 

Big changes are happening behind the scenes at ROOTS.

Construction is actively reshaping our space to better support young adults experiencing homelessness, creating a shelter that is more accessible, functional, and built for long-term care.

Each phase brings us closer to a space designed around stability, dignity, and community. We’re grateful to everyone helping move this work forward 🧡

Earlier this month, ROOTS Executive Director Erin Chapman-Smith attended the bill signing for HB 1634, a major step forward in preventing youth homelessness.

At ROOTS, we know that by the time a young person reaches shelter, the system has often missed multiple opportunities to intervene. Signs of struggle, such as mental health challenges, instability at home, or experiences of trauma, frequently go unmet.

HB 1634 changes that. It strengthens connections between schools, behavioral health providers, and community organizations, creating clearer pathways to identify students who are struggling and connect them with support before crisis escalates.

Prevention is one of the most effective tools we have. When young people are connected to care, stay engaged in school, and have access to stable support, their risk of experiencing homelessness drops significantly.

We are grateful to Representatives Thai, Eslick, Reed, Cortes, Doglio, Goodman, Salahuddin, Bergquist, Scott, Parshley, Zahn, Nance, Shavers, and Callan for their leadership and commitment to youth across Washington.

This is the kind of policy that strengthens systems and helps ensure fewer young people ever experience homelessness in the first place.

ROOTS is currently out of new underwear, one of the most essential and consistently needed items for the young people we serve.

Clean underwear is about more than comfort. It is about dignity, health, and being able to move through the world with a sense of stability.

We are urgently in need of: Briefs, boxers, and bikini underwear. All sizes. New only.

If you are looking for a tangible way to support young people experiencing homelessness, this is a direct and immediate need.

🔗 Wish list: https://bit.ly/RootsWishList

🔗 Donate: https://bit.ly/RootsGives

It happens to be April 1, but this is not an April Fool's joke.

Today is Trans Day of Visibility.

At ROOTS, we see every day how deeply connected trans identity and housing instability are. Trans and gender expansive young people are far more likely to experience homelessness due to family rejection, discrimination, and systems that fail to affirm who they are.

Visibility matters. But visibility without safety, housing, and dignity is not enough.

Every night at ROOTS, trans young people come to us looking for something simple and powerful. A place where they are respected. A place where their names and pronouns are honored. A place where they can sleep without fear.

That is what an affirming, low-barrier shelter means.

Today, we celebrate the strength, resilience, and brilliance of trans youth. We also recognize the urgency of ensuring that visibility is paired with real support, real safety, and real belonging.

If you believe in a community where every young person is affirmed and safe, we invite you to stand with us.

🔗 Give or learn more: https://bit.ly/RootsGives