History

Our History

Attain Housing was founded in 1989 as two organizations: Kirkland Interfaith Transitions in Housing (KITH) in Kirkland and Housing at the Crossroads in Bellevue. KITH was founded by Reverend Ron Hutchinson of Kirkland Congregational Church and Karin Frankenburger who served as Executive Director. Other churches involved in the formation of KITH were Rose Hill Presbyterian Church, St John’s Episcopal Church, Lake Washington United Methodist and Holy Family Catholic. Housing at the Crossroads was established by St Louise Catholic Church initially and soon supported by Bellevue Presbyterian Church. Both organizations began by housing families, usually mothers with children fleeing domestic violence, in apartments in our respective cities. Over time, we faced the additional pressure of rising housing costs in east King County, which continues to drive working families out of the cities and away from jobs, schools, and services.

In those early days we formed the basic idea of our work – transitional housing coupled with 24-month wrap-around support with creative, adaptive case management to meet the unique and individual needs of each family. In 2012 KITH and Housing at the Crossroads merged – joining our housing and case management resources, and bringing our total available housing to 32 units; 24 transitional housing apartments and 8 permanent (non-time-limited) apartments.

In 2014, to reflect the changes in our organization and community, KITH underwent a re-branding to become Attain Housing, renewing our commitment to quality, affordable urban housing for homeless and at-risk families with children, and expanding our programs to include rental assistance and eviction prevention. Early in 2020, we added another four-plex to our inventory. Today, our key programs include:

Transition Housing Program, where we provided up to two years of housing for families with children.  In addition, our families receive regular case management as they work toward achieving their individualized goals.

Stable Homes Program, a rental assistance program that allowed families maintain stability and avoid homelessness.

In 2019, Attain Housing celebrated three decades of providing homeless families with stable transitional housing and compassionate case management services. From the early KITH days, to the merger with Housing at the Crossroads, to re-branding as Attain Housing in 2014; it’s been quite a journey! We’ve been very fortunate to receive support and leadership from countless Kirkland-area volunteers, board members, and staff over the years and we would love to hear from you. We are always looking for stories and photos from our supporters.

Attain Housing 30th Anniversary