Families with children and single parents facing a housing crisis can now seek help at the Judith A. Gidley Family Resource Center, at 720 W. Court St. in Pasco. The center, operated by Benton Franklin Community Action Connections, has begun a soft opening with walk-in services and temporary apartments.
The opening schedule shifted across announcements. Citizen Portal reported that Benton-Franklin Community Action Connections had announced an Oct. 5 opening date, while a LinkedIn post from Jessica Sagdal said the center was scheduled to open November 2nd. The center is now offering showers, laundry, food and job-search help, according to Apple Valley News Now, which reported on the soft opening.
The site previously housed the Second Chance Center, which operated before the COVID-19 pandemic. Grecia Delgado was hired to reopen it as the Gidley center and is now the center’s department director, according to the same report.
Temporary Apartments and a 90-Day Window
The center’s temporary apartments offer families in a housing crisis stays of up to 90 days, Apple Valley News Now reports. Case managers work with residents during their stay, connecting them with services and following their progress. Staff say they give priority for the units to single fathers with children and families experiencing domestic violence.
Families may walk in for help; staff then conduct an intake to identify each household’s needs. The Pasco School District refers families to the center. Staff also connect families with domestic violence services, which the center describes as a strong partner.
From Showers to Job Searches
The center’s day services include showers, laundry and food, as well as a children’s area for parents visiting with young children. A job-search space has computers and printing, and staff can assist with resumes, applications, apartment searches and benefits enrollment, Delgado said. The center hopes eventually to let families enroll for benefits on site rather than travel elsewhere.
Other resources include a diaper program for families who cannot afford diapers and a community closet that accepts clothing, blankets and jackets. The center has applied for a diaper grant, with another grant application pending, and hopes to bring domestic violence advocacy services into the building.
A Rotary Grant and a Namesake
Grants and community contributions help support the center. A Rotary grant paid for its coffee station; separately, the Columbia Center Rotary Club awarded $3,000 for the center’s Family Essentials Project, according to a LinkedIn post from Jessica Sagdal. Delgado led the application for that grant. The center honors Judith Gidley, who served as Benton Franklin Community Action Connections’ executive director for 27 years, the post says.
Before opening, Delgado expected about three families a day to visit and said she hopes the center will eventually serve more. She described its purpose as filling gaps for families without somewhere to turn, with success measured in keeping the center open and helping families connect with case management aimed at long-term stability.
A Housing Market Squeezing Local Families
The center's opening lands amid a worsening housing picture across the Tri-Cities. State data counted 7,827 people as unstably housed in the region, with nearly 5,000 of them considered homeless, according to the Tri-City Herald. Parents with children made up about 43% of that population, and the number of families at risk of becoming homeless rose roughly 64% in Franklin County and 35% in Benton County between January 2024 and January 2025, the paper reports.
Rents haven't made things easier: the average two-bedroom apartment now runs more than $1,500 in Benton County and over $1,400 in Franklin County, per the Herald's reporting. A separate one-day count cited by NBC Right Now put the number of unhoused people in Benton and Franklin Counties at approximately 124, compared with 914 people reported as homeless in 2008 — though the station cautions these counts may not fully capture people staying at someone else's home or living in their cars.
The nonprofit also operates housing programs beyond the new center. Community Action Connections says its REACH program serves a six-county region with tenant-based rental assistance, short-term rent, mortgage or utility assistance, permanent housing placement and supportive services. The organization’s site also lists homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing, diaper bank appointments and a resource directory linking people to more than 40 partner organizations.
What local counts and referrals show
The regional figures cited above use different measures: the state-data estimate includes people described as unstably housed as well as those considered homeless, while the separate one-day count is a point-in-time tally and may miss people staying with others or living in cars. They should not be read as directly comparable counts. For statewide context, the Washington State Department of Commerce reported 158,791 people in emergency shelters or unhoused in January 2025, using state agency data systems and including King County figures.
The Pasco School District is one referral route to the center. The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction says the McKinney-Vento Act requires local educational agencies to designate liaisons who coordinate services for students experiencing homelessness and help ensure equal access to public education.
The Judith A. Gidley Family Resource Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., closing daily during the midday hours in between. Families seeking help can reach the center at 509-545-4042.
