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Solid Ground 

Description

We believe our community can move beyond poverty and oppression to a place where all people have access to quality housing, nutritious food, equal justice and opportunities to thrive.    

We are committed to working with compassion, integrity, accountability, creativity and an anti-oppression approach to end homelessness, hunger, inequality and other barriers to social justice. We value collaboration and leadership from the communities we serve.

Solid Ground addresses urgent needs and emerging trends among homeless and low-income people throughout Seattle and King County. Each year, over 50,000 people living on low incomes and experiencing homelessness turn to Solid Ground to address their most basic needs and for a chance at creating a better future. There are at least five important qualities that define our work: 1) capacity for innovation; 2) a broad scope of impact; 3) combined focus on direct service and advocacy; 4) a history of community-wide leadership; and 5) the ability to say YES!

Mission Statement
Solid Ground works to end poverty and undo racism and other oppressions that are root causes of poverty.
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Solid Ground
1501 N 45th St 
Seattle 
WA
98103-6708 
(206) 694-6700 

Mr. Gordon McHenry, Jr. 
President & CEO 

Programs

Solid Ground Programs

Solid Ground helps people living on low incomes to secure and maintain stable housing, access healthy food, advocate effectively for themselves, and increase their independence. Nearly 50,000 people in Seattle/King County access our 30 programs and services each year.

We also work to undo racism and build social justice. We advocate for public policies that meet the needs of people with lower incomes in Washington State. We connect people with community resources and support them in taking positive steps to lasting stability. To make our services accessible to everyone, Solid Ground uses professional translation services.

At Solid Ground, we see where homelessness, hunger and poverty have their most harmful impacts. However, we also see the many possibilities and opportunities for people to make transformational changes in their lives.

We engage people across our community to act with purpose and focus, and we put forth front-line strategies that address immediate needs while helping people build stability, strength and a more hopeful way forward.

We believe we will create positive change in the lives of people who are striving for a better future and positive change for our community as well.

Our major program areas:

HOUSING PROGRAMS 

Solid Ground’s Housing Programs shelter and assist over 1,600 children and adults each year, while preventing homelessness for over 4,000 more. These programs include:

Permanent Affordable Housing
  • Brettler Family Place
 
Transitional Housing
  • Broadview Transitional Housing
  • JourneyHome
  • Sand Point Family Housing 
  • Santos Place
Emergency Shelter
  • Broadview Emergency Shelter
  • Family Shelter & Bethlehem House
Homeless Prevention
  • Financial Fitness Boot Camp
  • King County Housing Stability Project
  • Lifelong Housing Safety Net
  • Mortgage Services
  • Seattle Housing Stabilization Services
  • Tenant Services
HUNGER ACTION CENTER
Our Hunger Action Center serves as the backbone for Seattle’s food bank system and a lifeline for those who depend upon food banks for their survival. These programs include:
  • Apple Corps
  • Cooking Matters
  • Food Resources
  • Food Security for Children
  • Lettuce Link (including the Giving Garden at Marra Farm and Seattle Community Farm)
ADVOCACY & COMMUNITY SERVICES
Solid Ground’s advocacy programs lead the way in gaining legislation and funding for our most vulnerable citizens, while our community service programs mobilize over 250,000 hours of service each year. These programs include:
  • Anti-Racism Initiative (ARI)
  • ConnectUp (formerly Community Voice Mail)
  • Family Assistance
  • Martin Luther King, Jr. VISTA Corps
  • Penny Harvest
  • RSVP (Retired & Senior Volunteer Program)
  • Statewide Poverty Action Network
  • Washington Reading Corps of King County

TRANSPORTATION
Solid Ground’s transportation programs make it possible for seniors and people living with disabilities to get to vital community locations. These programs include:
  • Downtown Circulator Bus
  • Seattle Personal Transit

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

In 2012, Solid Ground connected more than 50,000 people in King County with vital housing and emergency services, healthy food and nutrition education, legal assistance, domestic violence services, transportation and more.

The ongoing economic downturn has increased the number of people we serve dramatically. In addition, we’ve seen an upward trend in the number of barriers that individuals and families have to achieving stability including poor credit history, drug/alcohol dependency, language barriers, domestic violence, and mental illness, among others. During this time of urgent need, we have been able to continue providing lifeline services such as housing counseling, emergency food services and legal assistance, despite a significant loss in government funding.

We are especially pleased to report that Solid Ground broke ground in December 2012 on Phase II of the Sand Point Housing Project – creating 21 additional housing units for families, as well as 33 units for single men and women, including veterans, seniors and people living with disabilities. New residents are expected to move in by the end of 2013. Our new housing at Sand Point will then total 106 units providing permanent housing and support services for hardworking families and individuals overcoming homelessness. Moreover, Seattle Community Farm – Solid Ground’s newest organic farm launched in 2010 – has increased its productivity and impact as more neighborhood residents and youth programs get involved.

Other specific successes over the past year include the following:
 
  • Helping families experiencing homelessness—Solid Ground sheltered and assisted over 1,600 parents, children and individual adults. Most importantly, we helped more than 397 formerly homeless families achieve their goal of moving into a stable place of their own.
  • Preventing homelessness—We helped prevent homelessness for over 5,300 households through a combination of mortgage default counseling, tenant counseling, case management and short-term financial help.
  • Feeding a hungry community—Our Hunger Action Center helped grow and distribute more than 65,000 pounds of organic produce to area food banks. We also distributed more than 6,120 units of infant formula and toddler food bags.
  • Protecting critical benefits—Solid Ground worked to protect and ensure critical state benefits for our most vulnerable families. We did this by providing access to legal civil representation and counsel for 843 individuals. We also increased our outreach efforts to educate community members about the many recent rule changes related to state benefit programs and their client rights under current law. 
  • Responding to urgent community needs—When King County Metro discontinued its free ride zone in the fall of 2012, Solid Ground launched the Downtown Circulator Bus to mitigate the community impact, providing free rides for people living on low incomes and those who access health and human services in the downtown Seattle area.

Evaluation


Solid Ground provides services for the growing number of people facing homelessness, imminent displacement, hunger and food insecurity, violence and other poverty-related crises.

Proven Success
The economic challenge facing families and individuals has grown. Solid Ground programs seek to increase opportunities for people in poverty to build longer-term strength and stability. They work to help families gain the essential life skills and resources need in order to build better lives for themselves and their families.

They seek to fundamentally change and challenge the systems, policies and priorities that create poverty and inequities. Solid Ground provides leadership on policy and funding issues that protect basic support for our most vulnerable citizens while building opportunities for education, job training, employment and other resources that provide a pathway out of poverty to the kind of life toward which all families aspire.

Collaboration
Solid Ground has a long history of creating coalitions, developing successful community-wide initiatives and generating resources for programs. They created and continue to staff the Seattle Food Committee (the coalition of 27 Seattle-area food banks).

Sustainability
Solid Ground recently completed a strategic planning process. The key question that guided their discussions was “How do we come together better as one organization to build the wrap around services that take people form their point of engagement with Solid Ground to where they are thriving?” They hope to achieve more integration between their programs and deepen their work where they have the most expertise. They are conducting program assessments beginning with their Hunger Action Center, Housing and Volunteer Resources departments. They are exploring program design and scope of impact and evaluating if the program is sustainable.

Leadership
Gordon McHenry is Solid Ground’s new President and Chief Executive Officer as of July 2012. In August 2012 they hired a new Chief Operations and strategy Officer. They will implement the new strategic plan and look to improve internal operations and program services in order to better provide wrap-around services to clients.

Financial Health
Solid Ground has adapted to the economic climate over the past several years. The economic downturn has not only increased the people that need their services, but has also affected the funding sources on which they depend. They are adapting their business model, as well as expanding their fundraising efforts. They closed one of their office locations and consolidated their five Volunteer Resources programs into their headquarters building.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
3/10/2013 $20,000.00provide general operating support.
3/10/2012 $25,000.00support general operating expenses.
9/10/2010 $55,000.00support general operating and Sand Point Housing Capital Campaign ($50,000).
6/10/2009 $65,000.00support general operating expenses.
10/1/2008 $75,000.00support the Sand Point Housing Capital Campaign and general operating expenses.
3/22/2007 $45,000.00fund the Seattle Apple Corps Pilot Project.
6/21/2006 $75,000.00support general operating expenses.
12/8/2005 $100,000.00to support the Working Wheels Community Garage.
3/18/2004 $75,000.00support general operating expenses.

Financials

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