The Ground Floor is a project of First Congregational Church, which is dedicating a part of its building for use by a nonprofit to serve Bellingham.
For the foreseeable future, that nonprofit will be Northwest Youth Services, which will use the space as a day center for youth experiencing homelessness.
With your help, it will become a safe, warm and welcoming place for young people to relax, shower, do laundry, nap, study, cook, eat, and get connected with programs and services.
We’re raising $850,000 to get young people off the streets, into The Ground Floor and on to a hopeful future. You can help.
Young people in Bellingham and across the country often end up homeless because of family breakdown, abuse or abandonment.
The 2002 expansion of our church gave rise not only to a new sanctuary, but to a dream that someday, the space below it could be used to support people in need.
The name “The Ground Floor” speaks to the physical and spiritual aspects of this project. First and most obviously, the space is located at (and below) ground level which gives people an immediate understanding of where it is. Second, it speaks to basics; that of our faith, as well as the needs the space and its tenant, Northwest Youth Services, will address: young people who need warmth, a shower, clean clothes, a friendly face, support services. Finally, we like the notions of stability and safety that the word “ground” implies.
The Christian tradition begins and ends with compassion for all. We are inspired to welcome the stranger, share our bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless into our house.
