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The Jean Kim Foundation needs help raising $500,000 by the end of the year to purchase the building its hygiene center sits on.
An anonymous donor has committed $2 million to purchase the building at 19726 64th Ave. W. in Lynnwood, according to a news release from the Hazel Miller Foundation. The total purchase price is $2.5 million.
“I’ve been humbled by the support of community partners, volunteers and faith communities, and I’m in awe of the resiliency of our unhoused guests who face multiple barriers,” Jean Kim Foundation Executive Director Sandra Mears said in the news release.
The Hazel Miller Foundation has contributed $50,000 toward the $500,000 goal and hopes others will help fill the gap.
“The Jean Kim Foundation plays an essential role in South Snohomish County, offering dignity, support and hope to those who need it most,” Hazel Miller Foundation Board Chair Shannon Burley said in the news release.
The My Neighborhood News Group reported earlier this month that the Jean Kim Foundation wanted to find a host site for the hygiene center because the property owner had planned to sell the land the center sits on.
The property owner has allowed the Jean Kim Foundation to use the building rent free for the past five years. Before the space turned into the hygiene center, it used to be an emissions testing facility.
From April 2020 to September 2025, the hygiene center has provided 51,543 showers to people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. The center also expects to serve more than 13,100 hot meals by the end of the year.
The hygiene center sees about 50 guests per day. The guests have access to clothing, essential needs and case management services. The next closest facilities that offer similar services are in Everett or Seattle.
The Jean Kim Foundation accepts donations online here. Those who want to donate can also contact Mears via email at sandra.mears@jeankimfoundation.org or by phone at 564-202-7452.
“A shower, hot meal, clothing and access to services lead to transformation and an increased sense of self. No gift is too small as we work together to secure the future of the Hygiene Center,” Mears said in the news release.
— 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. Contact her at angelica@myedmondsnews.com.
Such great news!! Thank you to the anonymous donor and the Hazel Miller Foundation for helping maintain this vital service to our community!
This hygiene center has made the entire area around 64th unsafe, and it needs to be shut down for the safety of our community. Putting it right next to a public park and so close to the new Boys & Girls Club, local daycares, and nearby schools was a completely irresponsible decision. Instead of providing support, it has attracted drug activity, loitering, broken-down vehicles, and ongoing disorder that has taken over a public space our tax dollars maintain. Trying to “save” or further fund this location without fixing the serious safety problems it has created is even more irresponsible it ignores the reality of what this site has become. The park and surrounding area should be safe, clean, and usable for the community, and right now it’s anything but. For the safety and well-being of the surrounding residents, the facility should be closed and relocated to a properly managed location that does not create these issues.
Shutting the center down might feel like the simplest fix, but it dodges the real question: what actually caused the problems you’re describing? Blaming the hygiene center assumes it created problems out of thin air, when in reality it’s more likely exposing issues the neighborhood already had and giving people who were already there somewhere visible to go. Remove the center and you don’t remove the people, the addiction, or the poverty. You just push it all a few blocks away and pretend it’s solved. If the area is struggling with drug activity, disorder, or mismanagement, then the honest solution isn’t closure, it’s oversight, staffing changes, better coordination with outreach and law enforcement, and clear operational standards. Those are fixable issues. Cities all over the country run similar facilities without them spiraling into chaos, so claiming this one is beyond repair doesn’t hold water. And relocating the center “somewhere else” is a familiar political move: it delays action, burns more money, and leaves the same people with even fewer resources, which usually makes the problems worse. The park doesn’t get safer when vulnerable people have no services nearby; it just gets a rotating population with no access to bathrooms, case managers, or support exactly the scenario residents complain about. If community safety is the goal, then a functioning, accountable hygiene center is the solution.
You have obviously never spent a single day without shelter/heat/clean water/shower/food. Please, by all means, tell us where this mythical location you speak of might be? If it isn’t “properly managed,” it doesn’t matter where it is. Everywhere has problems if you haven’t noticed. Homeless people are people too. The actions of a few bad actors make them all look bad. They are part of your community whether you like it or not. They need HELP not judgement. What have you done to improve your community or any of the problems you listed? Unless you’ve put forth the time and effort, don’t expect someone else to lift a finger to improve a situation that YOU have a problem with. Try being a good neighbor, have some compassion and understanding for your fellow human beings instead of a holier than thou Karen that clearly has too much time on their hands. Whining about a problem has solved zero problems since time immemorial. Your entire post is a glaring insight on what kind of person you are. You need some integrity and empathy… not to mention morality. You are fully capable of being a better person! Don’t be that guy. Make better choices. Memorize the Golden Rule and be the change you want to see. PLEASE grow up and actually contribute to the solution!!!
Please support this… unless you have walked in the shoes of those who end up on the street… you have an ignorant negative opinion. This location is critical for our families who depend on it today. Nothing better than a person to talk to, a hot shower… a meal… community love.
I have gone to LA Fitness for years.
Like the Hygiene Center, both draw savory and unsavory populations. People being rude can be found anywhere. In both places, people are trying to improve their lives. Sometimes, after leaving LA Fitness, I drop off and item (used but useful, boots or shoes) at the Hygiene Center.
I do this because I volunteered at a food bank for years, then suddenly our family had to use it ourselves( thankfully temporarily).
Life is tenuous but empathy strengthens it.
I can only speak for myself, but I get that people need to shower and that even though there are many places that give away clothing and many places that offer and help with services etc that that part is just fine and doesn’t affect a community. Now this is Lynnwood not Edmonds so maybe because of the public drug use (illegal) and the loitering and what was it abandoned cars? Maybe the Lynnwood police should be more diligent in driving around and checking things out. It’s the drug use that would upset me the most as well that stuff is not good for children or anyone to be around. So maybe a little of this and a little of that would help everyone. There is no crime in being homeless and it is very sad. Does Lynnwood have a shelter for working homeless? Does Everett? Does Edmonds? I don’t think they do and they should and the county should pay for those. My BIL in Minneapolis volunteered for 20 years in one he loved it and he did it every night most nights free. He knew these guys well as they stayed there to sleep for years. After work or after drinking. So do it right and it will be able to stay and maybe get more donations. Ask your Lynnwood PD.
I used this as a place to stop for free meals and showers when I was briefly homeless five years ago. There is nothing similar to this anywhere around. People are right though, it attracts some people who use drugs and commit crimes. Those people victimize the other homeless, local property owners, they break into cars, all of it. Unfortunately, so do some of the people/kids who live in nearby apartments, as we’ve all learned this year.
I from my encounters with those needing a place to call home including my own experience in this as well – can totally opt for the Hygiene Ctr. staying open. When times hit hard – We all need someone in our corner. It’s been sometime ago that I had to resort to moving. Unfortunately there was a paperwork back-up. So I called several folks I knew to tide me over w/a place to stay a few days. No wins on that account! Even though things looked rough..I kept Praying even though feeling overwhelmed. Then as I hit the shower to prepare to go get help I lost control of my head, neck, & arm (Was having a seizure) i’d had another one after hitting the road (And had to grab onto a light post) Till I could walk. Pausing a moment (Teardrops) – I by the strength of God made it to my destination to get hsg. help. 911 dispatch whom I’d called earlier said it was a focal seizure and was surprised that I’d made it on the bus. But God never left me – And strengthened me enough where I could seek hsg. help though I had become sick. You have a friend in Jesus everyone – happy Holidays. And I Thank You God ~ And pls. keep the Ctr open, T/U. Amen.