Multimillion donation given for critically-needed Tri-Cities women’s shelter
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Anonymous $2M stock boosts campaign; Tri-City Mission nears $9.5M goal.
- Pasco women & children’s shelter is in aging building with little space.
- Campaign plans finalize designs in 18 months; community donations fund construction.
When a family loses their place to live, options are limited in the Tri-Cities.
That could change soon, as Tri-City Union Gospel Mission nears the end of its years-long fundraiser to build a new shelter for women and children.
For years the Tri-City Union Gospel Mission has struggled to keep up with the need they see at their cramped, aging women’s and children’s shelter, but thanks to the generosity of Tri-Citians, they’re now in the home stretch.
Director Andrew Porter told the Tri-City Herald that they were at just over halfway to their goal of $9.5 million when an anonymous donor added $2 million in stock to their coffers.
That’s a staggering $5 million raised in just over a year since receiving an anonymous $250,000 donation match last July.
“It’s overwhelming, but we’re just very grateful to people who have helped us get this far,” Porter said.
“Everything we do is funded by the community, we don’t receive any government types of funds whatsoever, everything we’re able to do … is because of people giving from their hearts and sending it in so that we can help people.”
They’ve already got the land in Kennewick near the Toyota Center. Now the nonprofit is hoping to bring the campaign to a close before the cost of building rises even higher.
Tri-Cities families considering where to donate this holiday season could help Union Gospel Mission make a huge impact in the community for decades to come, he said.
New shelter
The women and children’s shelter is currently in the old Union Gospel Mission. It is a cramped, more than 100-year-old building in downtown Pasco.
They don’t have the space to give families a room of their own, with clients instead sharing rooms full of bunk beds. That makes for a stressful, often noisy situation.
The shelter also has all the problems expected of an aging facility, including issues with water and power systems.
The nonprofit tries not to turn anyone away, but if they don’t have room, they will try to set them up with a hotel. That can get expensive with most families needing months to get back on their feet.
It also doesn’t have the room needed for life skills and job training that the newer men’s shelter does.
And there isn’t a safe place for children to play nearby, with the shelter in the middle of busy downtown Pasco.
It will likely take about 18 months to finalize designs once the fundraising campaign is complete.
“I’ve been here a little over 16 years now, and I’m just really thankful for our community supporting us over those years,” Porter said. “We’ve just got a really wonderful community that supports us as well as others.”
Who does UGM help?
From families that have fallen on hard times to people with chronic mental health or addiction issues, Union Gospel Mission does its best to help anyone who is in need.
They serve between 120 and 140 each day, plus those who come in for meals or to get out of the weather. The men’s shelter has a robust life skills training program that they hope to be able to more fully replicate for women once the new shelter is built.
Residents in transitional housing can stay at the shelter for up to two years. Often the shelter is the first step toward long-term housing stability. It also gives chronically homeless people an opportunity to start getting whatever help they need to overcome the barriers they are faced with.
“There are just so many reasons why people are homeless and for a lot of people because of addiction or mental health, it’s very difficult for people to even want to change. It’s just an ongoing struggle,” Porter said.
“We see people who come and go and come and go who just aren’t ready,” he said. “They finally get to a point where they’re ready to try and a lot of times they make it. Sometimes they don’t. We’re just there when people are ready.”
Their services focus on three tenets: Rescue, Recovery and Restoration.
Rescue focuses on the emergency shelter portion of their mission, from providing a place to sleep to day services such as meals and showers. They even offer nurse case management for medical needs, as well as a chiropractic visit on Saturday mornings.
Recovery is all about setting clients up for success. The New Life program helps clients build a strong foundation through a 13-month faith-led program that focuses on recovery, accountability, counseling and more. They also offer case management to help clients get started on the process of finding the medical, legal, job skills and housing help they might need.
Restoration is all about the transition to a new life with the skills and help clients need to succeed. It’s about building relationships, helping set clients up with household items for their new place to live and continuing to keep them involved in the programs that helped them reach this point. That transitional period typically starts six months before they graduate from the New Life program, ensuring the clients feel supported through the next step in their life.
Despite how difficult it can be, the nonprofit has seen its share of life changing success stories.
Diane Alaniz Anzar told the Herald last year that the Mission saved her life. She was in the cramped women’s shelter in 2023 struggling with addiction recovery, and a year later she was living in a supportive housing apartment in Kennewick, feeling truly blessed.
She hopes the new shelter will make that journey possible for more Tri-Cities families.
“It feels like you’re trusted and somebody believes in you, they really believe in you and you can feel it in your heart,” she previously told the Herald. “The mission saved my life, there are a lot of people like me. There are a lot of people that need help. The mission gave me a life I never thought I could have.”
How you can help
Giving Tuesday and the winter holiday season are critically important times of the year for nonprofits. Up to one-third of donor funding for many nonprofits comes in December alone, according to a study by DonorBox.
This year Tri-City Union Gospel Mission hopes the community can help get them even closer to the finish line for the new women and children’s shelter.
In addition to fundraising for the new building, they also accept donations to help keep clients safe and warm during winter. Not everyone they help is ready to get help, so being able to help vulnerable clients with hand warmers, blankets and other supplies is critical to their mission.
Some supplies they’re always looking for help with include beanies, hand warmers, socks, gloves and weatherproof blankets.
To make a donation, visit tcugm.org/ways-to-give/ or bring your donation to the men’s shelter at 221 S. 4th Ave. in Pasco.
This story was originally published November 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
