BREMERTON — Faith is a central part of the Kitsap Rescue Mission.

But the nonprofit’s faith-based hiring practices have also jeopardized $120,000 in federal grant funding, putting a kink in Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler’s plans to prevent the overnight homeless shelter from closing.

Federal rules that prohibit religious discrimination prevent the Kitsap Rescue Mission from receiving unspent Housing and Urban Development money the city received last year for the Quincy Square project, according to Bremerton city officials.

City leaders have asked the Kitsap Rescue Mission to adopt a nondiscrimination statement — meaning the organization would no longer consider faith when hiring employees — to ensure it is eligible for the money.

“If they wanted to apply for these funds to keep the shelter open, their best bet would be to change their hiring practices to ensure it does not discriminate based on a religious affiliation,” Wheeler said.

The Kitsap Rescue Mission — which runs Kitsap County’s only year-round, overnight homeless shelter — is set to lose the temporary operating permit for its 26-bed shelter by Oct. 13 because the building is not up to fire code.

But despite the overnight shelter’s precarious future, the Kitsap Rescue Mission is sticking by its religious values.

“As a faith-based organization it's important for us to be able to consider faith as a component of hiring,” said Kitsap Rescue Mission executive director Nancy Olsten. “Faith is what motivates us to show up and the reason to love people… (staff) are drawing on something more important and deeper.”

Instead, the Kitsap Rescue Mission is asking HUD for a religious exemption — a unique request that’s anything but guaranteed. Even if the request is approved, it may not be in time for Bremerton city officials to meet a fast-approaching deadline to use the federal money.

“It sounds like they're not going to change their policy,” Wheeler said. “It’s deeply disappointing."

During the hiring process, the Kitsap Rescue Mission requires employees to agree to the organization’s mission statement, Olsten said.

That statement includes believing in one God, the Bible as the “inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God,” and “the deity and humanity of Christ,” among other values.

“Generally it's part of the component of the interview,” Olsten said. “We do ask people to look at our statement of faith and make sure that’s something they can agree to and live with.”

Other faith-based organizations in Kitsap County have run into roadblocks when it comes using government funds to provide services.

Last winter, the Salvation Army in Bremerton let go an employee who was accused of proselytizing during meals and discriminating against clients. On Bainbridge Island, residents and LGBT groups pushed back against using city funds for The Coffee Oasis, arguing that public funds shouldn’t go to an organization with a religious background.

The U.S. Supreme Court determined federal funds can't be used to support "inherently religious" activities. The Washington State Constitution states, "No public money or property shall be appropriated for or applied to any religious worship, exercise or instruction, or the support of any religious establishment." Kitsap County also added language to its contracts explicitly prohibiting recipients from using public funds to "support or engage in explicitly religious activities.”

However, Olsten maintained that the Kitsap Rescue Mission “absolutely does not” discriminate in its services.

“Our faith in Christ is the center of who we are and why we are here for those in our community experiencing homelessness,” Olsten said in a statement. “We have always served all who come to us without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, disability or religion — and will continue to do so.”

The Kitsap Rescue Mission has asked for an exemption based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and is waiting to see if that exemption extends to federal grant funds proposed by the city, according to an announcement online.

But Olsten is not confident that request will be approved. “I don’t know because I’ve never done this before,” she said.

Requesting religious exemption for HUD funding is not common, said Sarah Achaoui, who oversees the Community Development Block Grant program for Bremerton.

The regional Office for Community Planning and Development — which includes Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Oregon — has never fielded such a request, according to Achaoui. “We’ve never gone down this path before,’ she said.

The exemption request is complicated by a short timeframe city officials have to use the HUD funding.

The city needs to have a plan in place to spend the money in November. But a decision on the religious exemption could be months away, said Andrea Spencer, Bremerton’s director of community development.

“Right now we have this timeless issue: we have to get this $120,000 out on the street to a grantee who can actually spend it,” she said.

The Kitsap Rescue Mission is currently the “first priority” for the funding, Wheeler said. That money would be used to install fire sprinklers and bring the building up to code.

If funding the Kitsap Rescue Mission doesn’t work out, city leaders will instead give the money to their “second priority”: YWCA’s ALIVE shelter.

The domestic violence shelter needs help fixing a possible lead paint problem inside the building. That project essentially serves as a back-up, ensuring the city can spend the grant funding on time. Bremerton City Council will ultimately approve the plan.

“It’s a clearly spelled out criteria that the Rescue Mission needs to abide by. If they abide by all of these things that the committee spells out, it’s their funding,” Wheeler said.

However, he said the city hasn’t “received any indication from them that they’re willing to change their bylaws and their employment practices.”

Olsten said the Kitsap Rescue Mission is currently looking for funding from other organizations in addition to city funds to keep the shelter from closing.

The organization is hoping to receive several extensions to its temporary permit to continue operating the shelter while working to bring it up to fire code.

However, that future is still up in the air.

Wheeler said he will convene a community meeting and work with city partners to talk about other options once the Kitsap Rescue Mission makes a decision about the federal funding.

“Right now what’s on my mind is getting people housing and sheltered as winter comes,” he said.

If the shelter does end up closing, he said: “We will have an emergency on our hands.”

The Salvation Army operates a temporary overnight shelter, from December through March.

Wheeler said the city's plan to save the shelter is possible, but it’s not up to him.

“We have clearly handed the solution to Rescue Mission that will keep those people shelter,” he said. “We have done everything in our power to come up with a solution.”