On October 8, 2020, our program featured presentations from Mercy Housing and Solid Ground. These are two organizations with which our club works to be a positive force in dealing with homelessness, especially with people of color. Our efforts with them focus on the programs located in the Sand Point area of Seattle.
Solid Ground believes that housing and family stability are foundational to ending poverty. They help families keep or obtain housing and get support to overcome poverty & thrive. Solid Ground works to end poverty and undo racism and other oppressions that are root causes of poverty. Solid Ground envisions a community beyond poverty and oppression where all people have equitable opportunity to thrive.
Mercy Housing handles every aspect of the affordable housing process, from project financing and housing development to community outreach and long-term resident services. We provide a custom approach to affordable housing which allows us to help more people and more communities while ensuring that each project is completed to our high standards. As one of the largest, most experienced affordable housing providers in the country, we are proud to offer a model of full-spectrum support for individuals and communities, including:
Tamara Brown of Solid Ground has been working to end homelessness in our community for the last 30 years. She has seen it grow, she says, as the result of income inequality increased, wage growth stalled, affordable housing decreased, and the wholesale ignoring of mental health and addiction needs in our community. For fifteen years, at Catholic Community services in South King County, she worked as a program manager for several housing programs, eventually as Family Center Director. She worked inside the King County Regional Justice Center for five years with homeless men and women as they transitioned back into the community after incarceration. She served as Chair of SKCCH for over 3 years. In 2005, she took a position as a Program Manager at Solid Ground, and during the last 15 years, she has worked in various capacities throughout the agency, including the development and management of housing at Magnuson Park and oversight of various programs. Currently, she is one of the managers on the campus, working primarily with our single homeless populations.
Lindsey Karas is the Resident Services Managers for Mercy Housing Northwest since March 2020. She currently oversees Resident Services programs at Mercy Magnuson Place and other Mercy Housing properties in Snohomish and Whatcom counties. Before becoming a manager, Lindsey worked at another Mercy Housing property in Bellingham since 2008. She is bilingual in Spanish and is dedicated to helping low-income families improve their economic well-being and ensure academic success for their children. She is a past recipient of the Ken Gass Community Building Award from the Whatcom Family and Community Network and the Community Champions award from Molina Healthcare of Washington. She also won the Peace Builder Award for her work with the residents at Sterling Meadows Apartments in 2017.
Mercy Housing is largest nonprofit affordable housing in country. It provides housing for seniors families and people with special needs. There is staff at the facility on site to help with issues. 342 people are served. There are many students in public schools that are low or very low income resident.
There have been issues with rent and financial stability during COVID, as well as issues with remote learning. The staff helps with remote learning support. Staff are working on increasing literacy for young children. They need tutors for kids and books. Residents are from many countries and many languages are spoken.
Tamara Brown has been involved with the Club’s annual block party since its inception fifteen years ago.
Many of the residents are from a place where no one has cared about them.
Solid Ground is an agency that has hunger and food outreach, serves homeless people, and provides housing programs. There is transportation access for low income people.
Solid Ground has a partnership with Mercy Housing. Mercy Housing manages Solid Ground’s properties. The mission of Solid Ground is to end poverty by addressing racism, unemployment, health issues. Most important are services to kids as poverty and homelessness tends to be generational. They encourage kids to stay in school and graduate from high school.
Many of the residents have disabilities. Mental health issues have escalated during Covid.
A Boys and Girls Club is coming to children’s program. It has had a delayed start due to COVID-19.
They have after school tutoring and activities. All are socially distant.
Solid Ground is endeavoring to make sure people have what they need for coming winter months.
It is a challenge to get people to wear masks and keep distant. Many people have mental health issues, often related to having been homeless.
The housing facility has families from many countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, Mexico, and Iran. Most of our families speak English. Here is the break up of the languages and the number of families:
| Language | # of households with primary language |
| English | 125 |
| Amharic | 9 |
| Farsi | 3 |
| Tigrinya | 3 |
| Spanish | 2 |
| Arabic | 2 |
| Swahili | 1 |
| Afrikaans | 1 |
| Lingala | 1 |
| Urdu | 1 |
Please let me know if there are any more questions!