Big leap for Take the Next Step

Take the Next Step held its first major fundraiser since its founding more than a decade ago.

The Monroe nonprofit, known for its work serving the homeless, has seen 50,000 visitors since the Drop-In Center on Sams Street opened in 2005, according to the organization’s 2017 annual report.

Dozens of community partners gathered for a luncheon at the Brookdale Monroe senior living facility last Monday to learn more about supports being made available to east Snohomish County’s struggling populations, including from guest speaker U.S. Rep Suzan DelBene.

The congresswoman was introduced by Take the Next Step’s first full-time executive director, Mary Wysocki, who started with the nonprofit this year. DelBene touched on topics from addiction and nutrition, to mental illness and affordable housing.

“The only way a problem of the magnitude that we see in our communities is going to be resolved is through close coordination and everyone doing their part, and I think Take the Next Step is part of everyone in our community doing their part,” she said.

DelBene had just come from a visit at the Monroe Correctional Complex, where she and staff discussed rehabilitation. Many of the barriers that stand in the way of people living a stable lifestyle are not that far removed from one another, she said.

Homelessness, addiction and incarceration may all be a part of a person’s experience, DelBene said. About 60 percent of the people who visited the Drop-In Center this year were homeless, according to the annual report.

“That six out of 10 people we see suffer homelessness is a startling statistic,” according to the report. “But what is even more distressing for us is the fact that the other four are safely housed but still struggling so much to make ends meet that they need our help too.”

Take the Next Step brings together representatives of nearly two dozen businesses, churches, government agencies and schools one Tuesday each month, according to the annual report. The homeless response group discusses ways to support those who are unsheltered by collectively assessing solutions.

DelBene spoke about a recent experience visiting homeless encampments in the community. She met a man in his late 20s living under a bridge south of Monroe. She’d taken a ride-along in March with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office division that works with people who are homeless and is led by Sgt. Ian Huri.

The younger man told her he had been prescribed pain medication after his wisdom teeth were removed more than a decade ago.

“That cascade happens to many, many people in our community, and sometimes we stigmatize those people,” she said, “and we need to remember how easy it is for someone to fall into a situation of addiction.”

DelBene stressed the importance of making the right resources available to effectively address barriers. That means treating addiction as a public health issue, not a criminal problem, and putting programs in place to support workers, such as veterans, who struggle to find employment, she said.

About 2,500 households cannot afford housing in Monroe, according to Take the Next Step’s annual report. The nonprofit heads an action committee to address the issue of affordable housing.

Monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,878, or $1,529 for a one-bedroom in Snohomish County, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homeowners or renters who spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing are considered to be paying too much, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

“How can you find a job when you don’t have a place to live? How can you find a job when you haven’t had enough to eat?” DelBene said.

American Family Insurance agent and Monroe Rotary Club member Sally Petty asked last Monday’s audience to help double Take the Next Step’s $10,000 fundraising goal.

“We really know why we are here today and that is to support this organization that does so much for our community, and truthfully, if we look around this room and see all the different organizations that were apart of, there is nothing like Take the Next Step,” she said.

TTNS community outreach coordinator Sarah Lunstrum, who headed organizing the fundraiser, said $16,000 was raised. All of those funds will go directly to support services, she said.

Take the Next Step took over operations of Monroe’s cold weather shelter this year.

Speakers at last Monday’s event mentioned many people, including the youth, teen moms and those involved in student leader programs.

The cost of providing supports was broken down in the annual report. Last year nearly $400,000 was spent on programs and services, $34,000 on administrative costs, and $16,000 for fundraising. The budget would be twice as much if it included the almost 14,000 hours, equal to about $425,000, recorded by 423 volunteers.

Six part-time and one full-time staff, or “barely four full-time equivalents,” run the nonprofit, according to the report. Take the Next Step brought in $476,000 in revenue last year, with about $134,000 coming from individual donations.

Lunstrum said she had been looking forward to their community partners learning more about all the services the organization provides in the east county. She said many are aware of their work with the homeless, but “I don’t think they know we help everyone in need,” she said. 

“Over the past 12 years, we’ve watched what was going on around us, listened to our neighbors’ stories, and with our community’s help, we have been able to respond in some truly amazing ways,” wrote Donna Olson, TTNS founder and board of directors chair, in the annual report.