The Doorway Project was created in response to a request for proposals to expand services to encompass the 24/7 services model. Since 2017, this has manifested in a University of Washington and YouthCare-led initiative focusing on addressing youth houselessness in the University District through continuous community-engaged collaboration with U District service providers and community members.

Between July 2021 and June 2023, funds have been provided to the University of Washington ($250,000) and YouthCare ($250,000) to continue this work together. The main partners continue to be:

* 1) University of Washington (Academic Partner); 


* 2) UW Carlson Center Learning Center (Student Learning); and. 


* 3) YouthCare (Primary Service Provider)


The primary aim of the current phase of the Doorway Project is to center the voices of youth and young adults in the U-district who are experiencing homelessness in order to co-develop and evaluate a comprehensive and effective model that reduces youth homelessness and improves quality of life for all affected. 

The Doorway Project’s has four projected Frames of Healing-Centered Service: 

1. Healing Focused Engagement 


2. Healing Centered Training 


3. Co-learning 


4. Connection between agencies 


We are in pursuit of individual and collective liberation. We respect the services we represent as catalysts for the justice and reconciliation that we seek. We lean upon the power of our community network with innovation, activism, and shared funding. We influence organizational priorities from the most vulnerable circumstances, encompassing those who we may not often see. We stand firmly in opposition to pushback when prioritizing those who are most impacted by marginalization. We embody a radical legacy in the wake of all who dare to dream. 

We rely upon creative leadership development in order to sustain programming that invests in individuals holistically. Trusting ourselves to be self-guided, we meet folks where they are at and let them identify what they need. We enable the reclamation and honoring of one’s own story and journey. We are empowered with the personal ability to make sense of our own life narrative and find meaning in these experiences. Thus, we assert and advocate for environmental structure that is conducive to our growth- contradicting the ongoing process of colonization. We name the systems of oppression that have impeded much of our society from understanding humane potential for generations. We notice and respond to mistakes & mis-steps with humility as we dismantle these systems within ourselves. In solidarity with the many intersecting identities we bear, we know that healing ensues when we consciously validate each other’s sense of belonging. 

The Doorway Project is not in competition with anyone, as our inherent purpose is to nurture collaboration. It is through this collaboration that the healing-centered service is able to flourish. 

We are able to gift ourselves time, grace, and patience. From this, we gain clarity toward taking full reign in exploring whatever it is that we love to do. Supportive relationships and mentors encourage us to find our own happy place; a light lit within, tacitly lighting the flames of others- igniting them to exist authentically & be. We collaborate intentionally amid a multi-generational team where youth & young adult voices are key. We are committed to the long-term journey of progress, holding ourselves and each other with accountability. We communicate transparently, as knowledge and access to resources are central to achieving upward mobility. As a community we thrive upon these interdependent connections, rooted within infinite perspectives and history.  

[If you’re interested in collaboration please visit our Contact page.]

Doorway Project funding stems from the following Washington State 2019-2021 Fiscal Appropriations Bill (SB 6168 Sec. 603 subsec (11) [p. 464 of this .pdf]

“To support youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in the university district of Seattle. Funding is provided for the university to work with community service providers and university colleges and departments to plan for, develop,  and implement a comprehensive one-stop center with navigation services for homeless youth. The university may contract with the department of commerce to expand services that serve homeless youth in the university district. Awards are intended to expand capacity in alignment with accepting UW student service placements and with expanding provider capacity to host clinics and other services operated by UW departments, centers and programs."

As an organization committed to collaborating and fostering connections in our community, it is within our scope to work with community partners in supporting youth and young adults experiencing houselessness in the University District. However, we are also aware of the ways in which good-intentioned service learners often end up being extractive and doing harm in the process.

With that in mind, we advise prospective volunteers to reach out to ROOTS Young Adult Shelter to learn more about upcoming training opportunities. We would also recommend visiting Our Partners page to learn more about organizations who may have ongoing volunteer opportunities. 

If you are interested in collaborating with the Doorway team in a non-extractive way, please reach out to us through the Contact page and we will be in touch.

We encourage people to connect to those experiencing houselessness in the same way we connect with others in our lives: through engaging our interests, passions and talents. Getting involved in this personal way makes room for meaningful relationships, which we believe is the recipe for ending houselessness. The task is not to solve complex social systems or to fix someone’s situation. The task is to begin. To JUST SAY HELLO. To connect with someone through a shared interest. By doing this, the most profound change you will see is in yourself. In these moments of connection, you join the solution for ending homelessness. – Facing Homelessness

We decline any photos, beyond those listed on our social media (Facebook & Instagram) and website. Visit our Gallery page to see photos of our team and past events!

Doorway is located at the University District Youth Center building. We also host events and hold meetings at the School of Social Work or at our partner organization University Heights Center.