The last moving day at SCS was 16 years ago (Image: Seattle Counseling Services)
By Lena Mercer
For 51 years, Seattle Counseling Service has been an integral part of the city’s LGBTQ+ community providing mental health and general wellness services. That has meant being part of the Capitol Hill community, too. In the early 2000s, SCS moved into the Melrose Pine building at 1216 Pine. In the middle of a pandemic crisis, the organization has now completed a move to a larger location off the Hill that will allow it to expand its services and provide help to more people in Seattle.
“Expansion was the main factor, being able to provide, and evolve as the needs of the community expanded as well,” SCS’s Al Guerra said.
But their new home for “the oldest LGBTQ-focused community mental health agency in the world” in the Sixth & Lenora Building also represents yet another clear sign that Seattle’s LGBTQ communities are spread far beyond Capitol Hill.
The organization attempted to locate a new home in the neighborhood Guerra says, but ultimately could not find a space within budget. After so many years providing services to the communities in the neighborhood, Guerra says SCS has “felt fortunate to occupy a space that is occupied by so many other queer people” at Sixth & Lenora and is excited about what services they can offer in the new space.
In late 2019, they began the search for a new office. With a slow transition due to pandemic related shutdowns, Seattle Counseling Service finally nailed down its new location earlier this year but delayed its move until the summer.
According to the announcement on their site, the new offices will have several expanded services. 11 new therapy rooms, more ADA compliance with regard to wheelchair access, a more recently upgraded facility with more “reliable infrastructure”, and a more central location for transportation are all outlined as significant improvements to the 1216 Pine Location.
A major benefit of the move according to Guerra is the new in-house testing facilities. The “new labs at our new site are really exciting for us as a mental health agency to work with the client holistically in that manner” said Guerra.
SCS is currently operating tele-health services during the pandemic, which will not be interrupted during the late August move. Opening the building to in-person operations is being guided by the recommendations of Governor Jay Inslee and the preparedness of the staff to open safely. All walk-in hours have been suspended, and all sessions have been held remotely since March 16th.
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