At its core, housing can seem like a pretty basic thing: Just four walls and a roof, plus heat, water, and electricity. Add to that a door that locks, a kitchen, and a comfortable place to sleep, and you’ve got yourself a home.
But at Solid Ground, we know that people need more than basic shelter to build stable lives and pursue life goals, particularly after experiencing the trauma of homelessness. That’s why the staff at our Sand Point Housing campus work so hard to build community and connections through daily children’s programs, community events and celebrations, and weekly opportunities to gather and get support.
Residential Advocate Byron Botler and his band play for Sand Point residents at a summer BBQ.
Many of these events were curtailed or reimagined during the early stages of the pandemic, but this past year offered a chance to cautiously return to the programs that have always been at the core of Solid Ground’s residential services, from summer BBQs and holiday parties to farm field trips and theatre classes.
“After COVID, and people being stuck in their homes away from family and friends, these programs are a way to really build and reestablish community – and to have people reconnect with each other, to engage, to have some fun, and to celebrate where they are,” says Dee Hillis, Residential Services Director.
Sometimes all it takes is one caring adult
Children’s Group Specialist David Olivera plays cards with a young resident during an after-school program that Sand Point kids call “David’s” (photo by Michael B. Maine).
Our Sand Point Housing campus is home to more than 200 children and young adults, so many of our programs there are aimed at helping the youngest residents build stability into their lives, pursue their education, and discover their passions.
Nearly every school night, Solid Ground staff hold an unstructured after-school program (known as “David’s” to the kids, after longtime staff member David Olivera) followed by tutoring with both staff and volunteers, many of them tech workers from Google. (Read more in our blog post, Volunteer tutors help ignite students’ passions.)
There are weekly evening activities as well, including art, music, family get-togethers, parenting groups, and game and movie nights. For this coming year, staff are organizing teen and college-prep programs too. Oliver Alexander-Adams, Sand Point’s Family and Children’s Program Manager, says the programs are all built around the idea – supported by research¹ – that having at least one strong adult relationship in a child’s life has a profound impact on their development and future success.
“It’s so important that they have at least one person they can go to,” Oliver says. “Because if their home situation is unstable, or there isn’t consistency at school, we want them to have one caring adult – whether it’s a tutor or a staff member – that they can count on.”
Food nourishes us – and our community
Other programs are meant to bring together residents of all ages. This past year, we hosted summer BBQs with live music and water toys, Christmas parties with tree trimming and chili with cornbread, and Halloween parties with costumes and all kinds of treats.
Residential Case Managers Adina Mitchell and Sarina Williams at a tree trimming party at Sand Point.
Our community partners make many of these events and programs possible:
- University Food Bank operates the weekly Magnuson Park Community Food Pantry at Mercy Magnuson Place next door.
- Picardo Farm sets up a weekly farmstand on campus during the harvest season.
- OneLife Community Church serves a warm community dinner each Monday.
We even have three different community gardens tended by residents and a dedicated volunteer, with most vegetables going straight to the food pantry next door. If you’ve noticed that food seems to play a central role in all this activity, that’s no accident.
“Food is healing. Food is a nice way to get people together and get people talking to each other after having been in their homes so long,” says Dee. “People have lost those connections. This is an easy way to get people engaged, to reconnect with the neighbor that you maybe haven’t seen for a while.”
But it’s not all food and parties. The Sand Point community also has its own monthly newsletter, The Sand Point Edition, produced by Solid Ground staff. There’s a Residential Advisory Council to give residents a say in the decisions that impact their housing, and monthly Community Meetings so residents can ask questions, raise concerns, and develop collaborative solutions.
On top of that, we’re always looking to identify any unmet needs residents might have and find ways to serve them. Currently, Solid Ground is working to build partnerships with mental health providers so residents can get mental and behavioral services without leaving the campus.
“All of this goes back to helping our community be healthy, whole, and well,” says Dee.
- ¹ The Science of Resilience: Why some children can thrive despite adversity, Bari Walsh, March 23, 2015
- Image at top: Residential Advocate Arturo Velasquez hands out food at a Sand Point summer BBQ (photo by Neal Simpson).
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