The first thing you’ll see on Amberlee Bell’s desk is a vase full of flowers.

Bell’s partner typically gives her an assortment of flowers for certain occasions or just because, she said. 

“I love flowers,” Bell said. “I have a garden at my parent’s house. I have a huge medicinal garden and I grow flowers there.”

Bell’s desk also has a clipboard with papers tucked in it. A shower log rests on the top of the stack. It has people’s names and an indication if they are unhoused, among other information.

Bell is the site manager at the Jean Kim Foundation’s Hygiene Center at 19726 64th Ave. W. in Lynnwood. She became the site manager in May 2020 shortly after she volunteered and sought services there.

The Hygiene Center is a one-stop hub for showers, food and clothes. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It closes at 5 p.m. in the wintertime. Guests do not need to provide any paperwork to receive services.

Agencies such as MercyWatch and the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) occasionally provide services at the Hygiene Center. Some local churches, including Saint Thomas More Parish, provide hot meals.

Deacon Dennis Kelly from MercyWatch, which provides homeless outreach street medicine, said the organization offers basic medical care at the Hygiene Center on the second and fourth Tuesday each month. MercyWatch wants to ensure unhoused people do not fall through the cracks, he said.

“Being where they are is the best place for us to be,” Kelly said.

DSHS Program Specialist Susie Stendera said the agency’s mobile office goes to the Hygiene Center on request. DSHS has been visiting the center about once every three months, she said.

The DSHS mobile office is staffed with “specialists who can determine people’s eligibility for state and federal medical, cash and food assistance programs,” according to the department’s website.

Petey, who also goes by “Four Finger Pete,” is one of the Hygiene Center’s longtime clients. He said he has been visiting since it opened about five years ago. Having a hot meal is one of his favorite parts of the center. He likes meatloaf.

“The atmosphere is always good here,” Petey said.

Petey grew up in Shoreline. He has been unhoused in Lynnwood for about seven years. He recalls a time a couple of years ago when he shaved and cleaned up at the Hygiene Center before going to a job interview.

“I’m so thankful to have this place,” Petey said.

Amberlee Bell used to be unhoused around the time she started working at the Hygiene Center. Now she lives in a mobile home located just outside of it. Snohomish County did not have anything like the center before it was established, she said.

The Hygiene Center offers more than showers. Staff and volunteers also help direct clients to other resources, Bell said. Every winter the center closes one of its two showers and converts it into a warming room.

“There needs to be more places like this,” Bell said. “Homelessness is everywhere and there’s such limited resources.”

In 2023, the Hygiene Center logged a total of 10,630 showers. That’s compared to 2022, when it provided 9,150 showers.

The Hygiene Center is located at a former emissions testing facility, and it doesn’t own the building. Director Sandra Mears said she may need to find another site by the end of 2025. She is looking for a real estate agent to assist in relocating the facility or perhaps find another nonprofit who may be willing to co-locate with them. 

Bell said one of the best parts about working at the Hygiene Center is the people. Her favorite part is when clients return to the center with a set of keys to a home.

“My calling is to be with people,” Bell said.

The Hygiene Center welcomes donations, including large bottles of shampoo/conditioner and bleach. Hand warmers, washcloths, hooded sweatshirts, jeans, outdoor gear and shoes are also needed.

Those who have questions about donations can email sandra.mears@jeankimfoundation.org.

— Story and photos by Angelica Relente

Angelica Relente is a Murrow News Fellow covering housing and related issues in South Snohomish County for the My Neighborhood News Network.