Reliable Enterprises Executive Director Brett Mitchell poses for a photo inside Reliable Enterprises’ Centralia office on Wednesday, Aug. 23.
A sign outside Reliable Enterprises’ Centralia office bearing the nonprofit’s slogan, “Where possibilities become reality,” is photographed on Wednesday, Aug. 23.
By Emily Fitzgerald
Reliable Enterprises was founded in 1977 to provide opportunities for adults for developmental disabilities, but now, 46 years later, the non-profit offers a much wider variety of services to benefit the community.
“Clearly times have changed and the community has changed and so the organization has changed accordingly,” said Reliable Enterprises Executive Director Brett Mitchell.
Nowadays, Reliable Enterprises’ main programs are affordable housing and visitation services. The nonprofit has 124 units of low-income housing, soon to become 146 units as Reliable Enterprises prepares to open another building.
On the visitation side, Reliable Enterprises works with children and families across Western Washington to connect them through supervised, court-ordered visits. Sometimes, those visitations come in the form of family reunifications through housing.
“You can see the impact in front of you. It’s not like you do all of this and somebody gives you a statistic,” Mitchell said of the housing and visitation services. “Those two particular areas that we work in, you can actually see somebody getting housed and a family getting reunified, kids being able to visit with their families while families are working through issues. All of that stuff is kind of right in front of you so you can know the direct impact that you’re having on that, which is pretty satisfying to the people that do the work.”
Reliable Enterprises also runs educational programs, heading Lewis County’s Head Start program, offering support to infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities through the In- Tot program and facilitating support networks for parents and families.
Disability services for adults are still a part of Reliable Enterprises work through the nonprofit’s recreation program, Mitchell said. Reliable Enterprises also runs a thrift store and offers payee services to help people with financial management.
Anyone interested in learning more about Reliable Enterprises’ services or volunteering in any area of work is encouraged to call the nonprofit’s main office at 360- 736-9558.
For more information, visit Reliable Enterprises’ website at
