Neighbor Helping Neighbor – Helpline’s pledge to help those in need

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 1, 2026

As the board of Helpline House, we stand committed to helping those in need on Bainbridge Island. The Helpline House mission is to offer an umbrella of social services and invite the community to become a part of a circle of giving and receiving help—Neighbor Helping Neighbor. Consistent with Helpline’s mission, Bainbridge Island has typically been a welcoming community where we look out for one another — “neighbor helping neighbor” at its core.

Helpline House sees firsthand how critical the need for affordable housing is for Bainbridge Island residents. As part of the non-profit’s umbrella of social services, Helpline House’s Housing & Utility Assistance Program provides eligible community members experiencing housing instability with financial assistance for rent or mortgage expenses. The number of island residents seeking this kind of assistance has been steadily increasing, indicating insufficient affordable housing available on the island. Meanwhile, our island population continues to grow, and by state law, Bainbridge Island is required to produce the land use conditions for 1,139 affordable housing units by 2044.

According to current data, Bainbridge is at the bottom third nationally for affordable housing availability: only 3% of the over 11,000 housing units on the island are considered “affordable.” 79% of surveyed Bainbridge Island workers commute from off-island but say they would live here if affordable housing were available. Access to affordable housing on Bainbridge has been identified by state and local organizations, including Helpline House community partners, Bainbridge Community Foundation, and Housing Resource Bainbridge, as an urgent need that must be addressed without delay.

In their 2024/25 Community Report, BCF states that “Lack of affordability has a profound impact on other areas of our community. As lower-wage earners move off the island to find more affordable housing, the traffic on (Highway) 305 gets more congested, impacting transportation. Health services become harder to find as primary care offices often decline to move their businesses here, due to operating at a loss and an inability to find housing for medical staff. As enrollment rates drop in public schools, school funding declines and quality education on the island is at risk. Economic opportunity for small businesses becomes more challenging as Bainbridge Island business owners have trouble finding staff and struggle to make ends meet financially.”

Housing Resource Bainbridge reports, “Limited inventory on Bainbridge Island has pushed prices beyond reach of all but top-tier earners. Increasingly, people who work on Bainbridge—educators, first responders, city employees, service industry workers, those who care for the elderly, and so many others—live off island far from their work and endure personally and environmentally unsustainable commutes. Longtime residents who had hoped to remain in the communities they helped build are leaving. And young families and other newcomers—people who bring diverse backgrounds, new ideas and energy—are being kept away.”

As the Helpline House board, we encourage pending efforts so those who work here—spend their work, life and energy here—can live here and truly be a part of our community. We also recognize that one project won’t solve all our affordable housing needs. It is likely that a number of diverse projects will be necessary to deliver an adequate supply of housing to our residents. A lack of adequate housing for a vibrant workforce reverberates throughout the island and impacts our entire community.

We continue to support our city, the recommendations they have made and encourage growing even more affordable housing. We view housing as a basic right. This is who we are and what we believe Bainbridge Island can be, in support of our stated mission of Neighbor Helping Neighbor.

This op-ed was written by the Helpline House board of directors.