Brettler Family Place: The finished product!

We’ve recently celebrated the Grand Opening of Brettler Family Place and shared with you photos of the event. But we realized that those shots were primarily of speakers and guests, so we wanted to give you a better view of what the completed Brettler Family Place looks like. The following slideshow gives you the goods. […]

Brettler Family Place opening bash!

More than 150 people joined us at the Grand Opening for Brettler Family Place Thursday night! Thanks to Mayor Mike McGinn, Speaker Frank Chopp, Governor Mike Lowry, Dan and Cindy Brettler and others for contributing to the program. Of course, the most moving part of the evening was Joy Sparks’ speech about what living at Brettler […]

Brettler Family Place Grand Opening event Thursday April 7

“Moving here is a dream come true,” said Joy Sparks, who along with her two children are among the first residents of the new 51-unit Brettler Family Place in Magnuson Park, which provides affordable, permanent housing with support services for formerly homeless families. “It’s a beautiful place for me to raise my kids and get […]

First tenants move in at Brettler Family Place

If you listened carefully this morning, you could hear the soft padding of young feet in jammies in the hallways at Brettler Family Place. Tea kettles whistled and warm voices called “wake up,” where once the drone of air compressors and the pop of impact drivers filled the soundscape. For the past year, the sounds […]

Brick and siding work begin on Brettler Family Place

Framing is almost complete on the housing units Solid Ground is building at Magnuson Park/Sand Point. As this photo essay shows, the exterior brick and siding is just starting to go on. In the middle of the site, the Community Center is starting to take shape; its walls ought to be raised next week. Here […]

Brettler Family Place framing almost complete

Here are the latest photos of the new housing Solid Ground is developing at Magnuson Park for formerly homeless families. The townhomes and apartments are almost completely framed in. The Community Center will shape up soon.

Rooms with a view at Brettler Family Place

Marpac Construction is rapidly framing up Solid Ground’s 52 new townhouses and apartments for formerly homeless families at Magnuson Park/Sand Point. The following slideshow includes the first ever images from inside the project, giving a more intimate view of the construction and a taste of the views residents will enjoy when they start moving in […]

Brettler Family Place photo essay

The latest images from Brettler Family Place at Magnuson Park/Sand Point. By next year this time, the air hammers and heavy equipment that resound around these soon-to-be 52 housing units for formerly homeless families will be replaced by the sounds of kids playing!

Brettler Family Place taking shape at Sand Point

Cool: The 52 units of housing for formerly homeless families that Solid Ground is building at Sand Point/Magnuson Park are really starting to take shape! First floor walls on two of the legs of townhouses are up, foundations for the apartment wings are being readied. You can start to imagine just how many people Brettler […]

Brettler Family Place update: outlines are taking shape!

The outlines are taking shape at Magnuson Park for 52 units of new affordable housing for formerly homeless families! Named Brettler Family Place in honor of the generous support of the Brettler Family Foundation, the housing is currently on target to open in about a year. Here are the latest photos:  

Family Homelessness 2.0

Editor’s note: This is reposted with permission from Impatient Optimists, the blog of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the authors. By  Dan Brettler, Gordon McHenry Jr., David Wertheimer Those of us who have been engaged in efforts to end family homelessness over the past decade need to acknowledge one of two things: Either […]

A great place to live for people who need a home!

This Saturday is the Open House at our new housing development at Magnuson Park – Sand Point. This video explains more about the project, which initially will include Brettler Family Place, 52 apartments and townhomes for formerly homeless families, as well as a Community Center. MORE INFORMATION: Directions to Santos Place On Solid Ground at […]

Sand Point housing dedication

I didn’t hammer in a single nail to help build Solid Ground’s Sand Point Housing Campus, which sits on the edge of Magnuson Park on land that was once Naval Station Puget Sound. I did not help any of the 175 formerly homeless households move in, nor do I provide services or resources to support […]

Cooking Matters: A recipe for changing lives

There aren’t many activities that can compete with sharing a home-cooked meal with family, neighbors and friends. That is until you combine it with lessons that put a smile on your child’s face and give you a repertoire of resources and know-how to keep your family healthy. Cooking Matters is a Solid Ground program offering […]

University Rotary Club’s gift to Solid Ground has the kids jumping with joy

The Rotary Club of the University District selected Solid Ground to receive a gift in honor of the club’s 75th anniversary. During the club meeting in Dec. 2013, Solid Ground’s Resource Development Director Dean McColgan and Director of Residential Services Dee Hills received the generous $50,000 gift from Marella Alejandrino, University Rotary President. The gift funded the creation […]

Kids’ programs spark interests and create bonds

For families who have experienced homelessness, finding the time and money to participate in afterschool programs can be challenging. However, these activities and programs play an important role in building a foundation for growth and healing after families enter permanent or transitional housing. With this in mind, staff at Brettler Family Place and Sand Point […]

Christmas in July at Safeco supports Broadview

The Seattle Mariners and Rick’s Toys for Kids are presenting the first ever Christmas in July on Thursday, July 25 at Safeco Field. The Mariners will take on the Minnesota Twins with a 7:10pm first pitch. A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit Toys for Kids, the charity started many years ago by M’s broadcaster […]

Housing shapes up at Magnuson Park

Sand Point Housing construction continues apace at Magnuson Park. Solid Ground is adding permanent supportive housing for previously homeless families, single men and women. We hope to have the two new buildings complete late this year and leased up soon thereafter. Once completed, the new facilities will bring to 200 the total number of homes at […]

Supportive housing taking shape at Sand Point

The final phase of Solid Ground’s housing development at the former Naval Station Puget Sound is taking place along Sand Point Way and just to the east of our Brettler Family Place. Building 5, now being framed in the area just south of the long brick historic barracks building, contains five family homes as well […]

The humanity of homelessness

Several Solid Ground staff members participated in the annual One Night Count of homeless people in King County described in this post. Guest contributor Ray Lumpp is a writer for AllTreatment.com, a website devoted to helping individuals and families facing addiction and mental health issues in Washington State. In the early hours of January 25, […]