Seattle home-care program reaches ‘end of a cliff’
November 14th, 2008From The Seattle Times:
Solid Ground, a Seattle home-care program that serves about 200 people with disabilities and chronic conditions, is shutting down after 29 years and laying off 114 home-care workers at year’s end. Organizers say the closure of Solid Grounds reflects a sign of hard economic times.
“It’s just a symptom of a bigger problem,” said Cheryl Cobbs, Solid Ground’s executive director. “Nonprofits kind of operate on the edge, and we’ve reached the end of a cliff at this point.”
Solid Ground sought to offer workers benefits and more competitive wages ranging from about $11.50 to $13.50 an hour, which is $1 to $1.50 more than caregivers earn at other agencies. In addition to Medicare and Medicaid funding, the organization depended on donations that have become more scarce with a troubled economy.

