Similar to the individuals it serves, Reclaim has been through many phases of life.

Upon its founding in 2012, the organization was called Valley Renewal Center and ran a winter shelter for homeless individuals at various churches in the Snoqualmie Valley, as well as a day center at Snoqualmie’s American Legion Post 79. In 2017, it became a nonprofit called Snoqualmie Valley Shelter Services. And in 2022, while celebrating 10 years of service, they rebranded to Reclaim.

All the while, the team behind the shelter was fighting to stay open, dealing with tight finances and permitting rules that only allow shelters to be up for so many days.

“Having a permanent location, having those roots in the Valley and having a storefront … it’s just invaluable, not just for the people who are accessing our services, but for the community to see that we’re really here,” said Executive Director Jen Kirk. “We really want people to know that we’re here, that we have served countless people over the last 13 years, and to really have them partner with us in this work.”

Reclaim now not only has its first brick and mortar site, but it owns the building at 8224 Railroad Ave. in Snoqualmie. The community service center, the first in the upper Snoqualmie Valley, is open Monday to Friday. It’s called The Front Door, a nod to the idea that guests should feel comfortable walking through the front door to receive services, Kirk said.

The building was purchased in early 2024, and Reclaim moved in last summer. They finally had a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the SnoValley Chamber of Commerce on May 8.

Jonathan Pearlstein, a real estate advisor who helped Reclaim purchase its building, is a member of the Historic Downtown Snoqualmie Merchants Association who spoke at the event.

“We live among people who have so much, but there are those who have so little,” he said, “and for you to be here advocating for them is an amazing thing.”

Previously, Snoqualmie Valley Shelter Services was just that: a shelter. Now, Reclaim has a robust set of programs to serve people in many different stages.

The Front Door offers clothing, emergency food, transportation assistance, hygiene supplies, benefits assistance, computer access and more. The building also has a room that serves as emergency housing during severe weather events.

Reclaim also runs a program called Shelter to Home, which houses people at motels in the North Bend area, encouraging them to simultaneously use Reclaim’s case management services.

When it became a nonprofit, Reclaim introduced a Housing First model, an approach by the National Alliance to End Homelessness that prioritizes finding permanent housing for people. Case management allows Reclaim to support people through that process, rather than “putting a band aid” over the problem, said community service specialist Aisha Gordon.

Though a lot about the nonprofit has changed over the years, Reclaim’s staff wants to assure the community that yes, they are still around, and the change is for the better.

“How we shelter people has changed, the case management … We have way more people exiting not back into homelessness, which is what we want,” Gordon said. “I feel like this is exactly where we’re supposed to be. We’re doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Reclaim also prioritizes helping people who have housing, but are struggling to keep it, according to Don Scaramastra, president of Reclaim’s board of directors.

“We are trying to focus on prevention,” he said. “It’s a lot cheaper to keep someone in a home than to find them a new one.”

Reclaim’s Poverty Immersion Experience

Reclaim takes pride in the fact that a majority of its staff has lived experience — 50% have experienced homelessness themselves and 25% once used Reclaim’s services.

In an effort to cultivate compassion within the community, Reclaim is hosting an event that will simulate that lived experience for guests. The Poverty Immersion Experience on May 31 will allow guests to “experience, in a controlled setting, the difficult decisions and struggles people in poverty might face,” according to the website.

Check it out: The Poverty Immersion Experience will be from 3-6 p.m. May 31 at Si View community center. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on eventbrite.com. To donate to Reclaim, visit reclaimstability.org. Reclaim’s annual fundraising gala will be Sept. 27.

Reclaim staff and board members prepare to the cut the ribbon at the nonprofit’s ribbon-cutting ceremony May 8, 2025. (Grace Gorenflo/Valley Record)

Reclaim’s first brick and mortar space located at 8224 Railroad Ave. in downtown Snoqualmie, May 8, 2025. Photos by Grace Gorenflo/Valley Record