Everett support service continues work after move
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, August 18, 2026
EVERETT — Hope N’ Wellness, an Everett case management and social services organization, is seeing usage numbers rise as it continues to operate over a year after changing locations because of a city zoning code.
Hope N’ Wellness provides zero-barrier support services to people in Snohomish County, with a focus on those experiencing homelessness and addiction. Along with case management services, it also helps offer a safe space for people to get donations of food, clothing or supplies, along with connecting individuals to other support services in the area.
The organization’s original location on Rucker Avenue in the city’s downtown operated since 2020 but had unknowingly violated a city zoning code that prohibited social services — along with other types of businesses like blood or plasma donation centers, private clubs, fraternal groups, churches or food banks — on the ground floor of certain blocks within downtown Everett. The city put those restrictions in place in 2006, then expanded them in 2018, to encourage a cluster of retail and dining businesses downtown.
Jasmine Donahue, who founded Hope N’ Wellness and still leads the organization, learned of the code violation in December 2023 from the city. She began looking for a new building to host the services, though that proved difficult because Hope N’ Wellness had operated rent-free thanks to an agreement with the property owner. The city originally gave Donahue a deadline of October 2024 to meet the zoning requirements, but extended the deadline twice to allow her time to find a new location.
Eventually, Donahue moved the business from downtown Everett to Our Lady of Hope Church at 2617 Cedar St. in April 2025. She also rented an office location on Rucker Avenue, south of downtown, to have space for administrative work.
Since the move, the organization has also opened a nonprofit arm, Hope N Wellness Foundation, to try and seek grant funding and donations to support its work. That was founded in July 2025, according to IRS records.
Hope N’ Wellness also seen a growth in people using its services since the move. According to Donahue, 318 people utilized its services in July 2024. That number more than tripled to 944 by July 2026.
That growth in service has come with some growing pains, largely financial ones, Donahue said in an interview Friday. At the moment, the business gets most of its funding by providing case management services for Medicaid beneficiaries, Donahue said, through a program known as Foundational Community Supports. But balancing two different locations, along with the increase in community need, has been difficult, she said.
The nonprofit arm of the organization hopes to garner enough support for Hope N’ Wellness to keep doing its work, said Summer Roemer, a member of the nonprofit’s board of directors.
“Primarily, what we as a board would like to see happen is that the board creates space for the employees or volunteers of Hope N’ Wellness to continue that work,” Roemer said Monday.
She said the current goal is for the nonprofit to help stabilize the organization’s operations and then decide on how best to serve more people in the future, either through looking to expand hours or expand the number of clients it can take on.
“Ultimately, it’s about serving the needs of the people,” Roemer said.
Donahue said there were other lingering effects from changing locations, particularly because the new hub for services is farther from the city’s downtown. It’s more difficult, for example, for volunteers to tag along with people to court dates because the location is further from the Snohomish County courthouse, she said.
But the move has also come with some benefits. Its new space is further from the street, so there is space for amenities like a bike rack. There’s been a big rise in other local agencies coming to Hope N’ Wellness to share information about services they provide, Donahue said, as well as donations of supplies coming in from nearby community members.
“It’s been our hardest year yet … the most challenging financially and otherwise,” Donahue said. “But it’s really great to see all the engagement we’ve had from the community.”
People who utilize the organization’s services say they remain vital. Katie Ragsdale, in an interview earlier in August, said Hope N’ Wellness has been one of the best resources she’s been able to access since becoming homeless over a year ago.
“I look forward to coming here every Wednesday,” Ragsdale said. “I couldn’t imagine not having Hope N’ Wellness.”
The organization will host an open house in Sept. 18 to allow community members to see the new location, Donahue said.
Hope N’ Wellness is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays at 2617 Cedar Street. More info: hopenwellnessfoundation.org.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.