Burien’s DESC Bloomside is facing serious accountability and transparency concerns, driven by high police call volumes, unclear or inconsistent wraparound services, and conflicting statements from DESC and regional agencies about who is responsible for resident care and safety.
The Format
Bloomside (formerly Burien Supportive Housing) opened its doors in May 2024 as DESC’s first supportive housing development outside of Seattle. The property, located at 801 S.W. 150th Street, was financed through Low Income Housing Tax Credits, county and state funding, private donations, and rent subsidy support (such as housing vouchers). Tenants generally pay 30 percent of income toward rent, with some paying $0 until income is established. The building was purchased for $1.9 million in Jan. 2022. King County awarded more than $5.27 million for the project one month later, in Feb. 2022.
The property boasts 95 units with full occupancy a regular occurrence, according to staff at Bloomside. Twenty-five of those 95 units are reserved for veterans. Waitlisted hopefuls enter an available unit after deaths, transfers, or situational circumstances cause a vacancy. There are reportedly 10 residential counselors and five clinical support specialists in the housing operations, with at least two staff members onsite overnight and on weekends.
The DESC Bloomside Community Advisory Committee began meeting in April 2023. The body includes two groups of members: community representatives and DESC staff, according to DESC’s published committee roster. The roll call was as follows:
- Nancy Kick (community member)
- Carrie Ly (Project Manager, Sea Mar Burien/White Center)
- Aaron Burkhalter (LEAD)
- Sarah Coleman (Chief Operating Officer, NAVOS)
- Debra George (Executive Director, Discover Burien and Burien C.A.R.E.S.)
- Nina Martinez (Board Chair, Latino Civic Alliance)
- Ricardo del Fierro (Project Manager, Kent Sea Mar)
As for DESC staffers, they are:
- Daniel Malone (Executive Director)
- Noah Fay (Director of Housing)
- Maria Jacinto (Executive Coordinator)
- Sondra Nielsen (Director of Property Development)
- Akhil Arun (Housing Development Coordinator)
- Christopher Ledestich (Construction Coordinator)
- Mateo Chavez (Community Engagement Coordinator)
The DESC Bloomside Community Advisory Committee meets quarterly to discuss neighborhood issues, community impacts, and operations related to Bloomside.
The proposed dissolution does not appear to directly close or defund DESC’s Bloomside supportive housing site in Burien based on available information. However, it could affect how referrals and some homelessness system coordination are handled. DESC says Bloomside applicants apply through KCRHA’s Coordinated Entry program, while KCRHA says it oversees the homelessness crisis response system but does not provide direct services.
Accountability
Police responded to more than 140 calls at the Bloomside apartment complex between January 2025 and early April 2026, according to a public records request. The majority of incidents involved area checks, trespassing complaints, and wellbeing checks, with officers returning to the same addresses multiple times a day during peak periods. Drug activity, disturbances and mental health-related calls also appeared regularly in the logs.
January generated the highest call volume, with midmonth seeing clusters of four or more incidents in a single day. February and March showed slightly lower but steady activity, including a death investigation, several domestic violence related calls, and repeated reports of harassment, threats and neighbor disputes. Bloomside accounted for a growing share of calls as the year progressed, particularly for mental health crises and trespassing.
While most incidents were low priority or non-criminal in nature, the frequency of calls underscores ongoing safety and quality of life concerns at Bloomside. Officers were dispatched for everything from noise complaints to suspected drug use, and in several cases remained on scene for extended periods during welfare checks or followup investigations.
A public records request resulted in the following data supplied by the King County Sheriff’s Office Public Disclosure Unit. Disclosed data included entries from 911 call(s), body worn camera videos, CAD reports, photographs, police reports, and radio transmissions.
A portion of police response calls between the dates of January 3, 2025, and April 6, 2025, is located on the table below for reference.
Incident Call Summary
Calls for service and reported incidents at DESC Bloomside from January through April 2025:
| DATE | # OF INCIDENTS | TYPES OF CALLS |
|---|---|---|
| 1/03/25 | 1 | AED |
| 1/04/25 | 1 | OD |
| 1/05/25 | 2 | TRESP (2) |
| 1/06/25 | 1 | ASIST |
| 1/07/25 | 1 | TRESP |
| 1/08/25 | 2 | TRESP, WELC |
| 1/09/25 | 1 | DPM |
| 1/11/25 | 1 | OD |
| 1/13/25 | 2 | AREAC, DRUGS |
| 1/14/25 | 3 | DRUGS (2), DPM |
| 1/15/25 | 4 | TRESP, TRESP, AREAC, DPM |
| 1/16/25 | 4 | AREAC (2), SS, STAKE |
| 1/17/25 | 4 | AREAC (3), STAKE |
| 1/18/25 | 1 | TRESP |
| 1/19/25 | 4 | AREAC (4) |
| 1/20/25 | 5 | WELC, AREAC, 911C, TRES, STAKE |
| 1/21/25 | 3 | AREAC, WELC, FU |
| 1/22/25 | 2 | LARC, AREAC |
| 1/23/25 | 1 | AREAC |
| 1/24/25 | 3 | AREAC (2), WELC |
| 1/27/25 | 2 | PARK, STAKE |
| 1/28/25 | 1 | SOR |
| 1/29/25 | 1 | BURG |
| 1/30/25 | 1 | AREAC |
| 1/31/25 | 1 | AREAC |
| 4/06/25 | 1 | SEX |
Lack of Wraparound Services
The B-Town Blog inquired about wraparound services available to tenants and were told by Chavez that Burien based treatment and case management resources are “fairly light.” He further explained that this resulted in residents being transported to Seattle for appointments, which is not ideal for this community. Telemedicine with Harborview Clinic is being explored and nurse coverage is under consideration but not yet in place.
When asked about mental health and substance use services available on the property for residents of Bloomside, there was not a consistent response from leaders at the Apr. 14 meeting. A resident present at the same meeting admitted to seeing “drug dealers on every floor” at Bloomside, which staff appeared to invalidate.
“We work together across multiple UW schools and departments on a range of activities, including clinical care for our clients, research and evaluation of DESC’s work and opportunities for students to learn and gain real world experience,” the DESC website claims. “Engagement in our highly effective, state-licensed mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs contribute to each client’s success in housing.” However, these resources do not appear to be regularly available to Bloomside residents.
Furthermore, the DESC Mobile Response Team (MRT) will close on May 31, 2026. “DESC will continue providing crisis response services through the Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT), a King County-funded program responding to the immediate needs of community members in behavioral health crises. DESC covers central King County, primarily Seattle, with Sound Behavioral Health covering the south and northeast regions,” the website noted.
Burien residents currently have little access to consistent performance data showing whether Bloomside’s wraparound services are meeting neighborhood and tenant needs – or even a clear picture of what they are. It’s not even that they aren’t there, per se. The one thing that is clear, is that this subject is murky.
These disclosures (and non-disclosures) have raised additional questions about whether the publicized onsite support model is fully staffed and consistently available, or whether residents rely substantially on outside systems already under strain.
It also raises the question:
Who is accountable for the souls living (and dying) at Bloomside?
- DESC says referrals come through KCRHA Coordinated Entry (KCRHA).
- KCRHA says it does not provide direct services.
- Burien has limited behavioral health infrastructure.
- King County funds the project but does not manage operations.
- Police respond constantly but cannot provide treatment or stabilization.
This creates a vacuum of responsibility — and residents fall through the cracks.
