Blog
NMI Spotlight: Atlantic Street Center – A Century of Care
by Catey Miller
In 1910, two United Methodist Church deaconesses — Jesse Gasser, a nurse, and Mary Jane Hepburn, a teacher — founded the Deaconess Settlement in response to rapid growth in the Seattle with a corresponding rise in community needs. Gasser and Hepburn wanted to offer medical, educational, spiritual, and social aid to local families, particularly Italian immigrants. Today, the organization is known as the Atlantic Street Center (ASC), and its mission remains “to support families and communities with raising healthy, successful children and youth through direct services and advocacy for social justice and equity.”
ASC is a National Mission Institution in relationship with United Women in Faith, whose funds support ASC’s Teen & Young Parent Program (TAYPP). TAYPP provides skill-building workshops, housing and food security resources, and more for young parents. In 2025, TAYPP expanded to include a Peer Parent Pathway, a program that invites TAYPP alumni to return to ASC and serve as mentors and role models, working with young parents from a place of shared lived experience. According to Grants Manager Kimberly Thomas, “[The addition of the Peer Parent Pathway] strengthened program engagement, helped participants see relatable examples of resilience and growth, and fostered a stronger sense of community and leadership among young parents.”
Graduation Success
In addition to the launch of the alumni mentorship program, 2025 saw a 100 percent graduation success rate for high school seniors in TAYPP. Thomas shares that ASC staff “supported participants through school engagement, academic encouragement, and practical supports such as transportation, childcare coordination, and case management.”
Graduates include Sage, a new mother who completed school while also growing her parenting skills in TAYPP programming and is now pursuing further education; Jamila, who received both job readiness training and transitional housing support from ASC staff members who also attended her graduation; and Tya, a mother of two who worked with TAYPP staff to secure childcare coverage and transportation assistance as she achieved her goal of completing a certificate program at Renton Technical College.
These young women’s experiences reflect the ways in which two young deaconesses’ vision of supporting families in need back in 1910 has flourished into the 21st century. And as the local population and its needs evolve, ASC continues to adapt to meet those needs.
New Role
In 2025, the Center added a benefits and supports navigator role, which directly connects families to both ASC-administered support systems as well as public benefits and safety-net programs such as Medicaid. Thomas writes, “As community conditions continue to intensify economic and resource insecurity, this enhancement positions ASC to respond more effectively and ensure families remain continuously connected to the supports that sustain their well‑being.”
With your support, NMIs like Atlantic Street Center can continue showing up for their communities in bold, practical ways. Our members help make these organizations unstoppable. We invite United Women in Faith members to support the work of our National Mission Institutions by giving online here or by writing a check to your local treasurer with memo “National Missions #3001152.” To learn more about National Mission Institutions, contact NMI@uwfaith.org.
Catey Miller is a communications consultant with National Mission Institutions at United Women in Faith.
