PLATINUM2023

The Sophia Way

Shelter. Safety. Stability.

Bellevue, WA   |  https://sophiaway.org/

Mission

The Sophia Way is a place of hope and change for women. We support them on their journey from homelessness to safe and stable living.

Ruling year info

2012

Interim Executive Director

Dietra Clayton

Co Principal Officer

Zee Peters

Main address

1100 Bellevue Way NE #8A-110

Bellevue, WA 98004 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

45-4084539

NTEE code info

Homeless Services/Centers (P85)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

The Sophia Way provides life-saving services and programs, supporting women experiencing homelessness in King County. In 2006, our founder, Helen Luezzi, saw a need and responded by working with others in the community to initially open Angeline's Day Center, a place of shelter for homeless women during the day on weekdays. In 2008, The Sophia Way was founded, providing overnight shelter for women in need, case management, rent subsidies, and services to support them on their path to housing. At The Sophia Way, our goal is to make homelessness rare, brief, and one-time for the women experiencing it. The women who seek support are in survival mode. Our shelters offer them a warm, safe space to take a shower, rest, and sleep, and nourishing food to give them strength.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Day Center

The Day Center is open 8 am to 3 pm, every day, providing immediate services. Women can do laundry and take a shower. They have access to phones and computers. They are served nourishing meals - breakfast and lunch - prepared by generous volunteers. Many of the women have diabetes or other health challenges, and our emphasis on is healthy meals. The women also benefit from the different resource referrals and service providers including counseling, health checkups, legal assistance, resume help and job opportunities.

Population(s) Served
Women
Homeless people
Adults

The shelter provides six months of stability to 21 women. They are given semi-private cubicle furnished with a bed and a lockers, and served healthy meals every day. Woven through their stay are supportive wrap around services including housing case management, financial coaching, and employment services. Our goal is to provide a continuum of care and services which guide women to a place to call home.

Population(s) Served
Women
Homeless people
Adults

Provides a safe and stable space for women experiencing homelessness to rest and heal. The shelter is open 24/7/365, offering women the care and comfort they need, while being supported in navigating their individual journey to stability and housing.

Population(s) Served
Homeless people
Adults
Women

Our overall goal is to help women move from temporary shelter to transitional & permanent housing as quickly as possible.

Population(s) Served
Women
Homeless people
Adults

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of women moved to stable housing

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of bed nights (nights spent in shelter)

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Number of meals served or provided

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

The Sophia Way is committed to supporting women experiencing homelessness and moving them into housing, making homelessness rare, one-time, and brief.

We also are committed to working with other organizations to raise awareness of homelessness in King County in by promoting legislative measures to end homelessness in the community we serve.

1. Increase capacity
2. Increase awareness of the Emergency and Day Center services
3. Conduct mobile outreach so staff connect and deliver life-saving services to women surviving on the streets.
4. Increase accessibility to the Emergency Shelter and Day Center.
5. Provide targeted case management services.
6. Equip and incentivize clients to collaborate with us in transitioning to housing.
7. Educate clients on the support and resources available when they move into independent housing.
8. Decrease length of stays across our programs.
9. Find more affordable housing (low-income or market rate).
10. Increase move-on strategy (moving current shelter clients into permanent housing).

Trained and professional staff
Supportive donors and funders
Dedicated volunteers

In 2021
> 426 women found shelter, safety, and stability
> 20,300 nights of safety and warmth for women
> 44,844 donated meals nourished women
> 85 women moved into their own home

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • Who are the people you serve with your mission?

    Single adult women experiencing homelessness

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

The Sophia Way
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

The Sophia Way

Board of directors
as of 02/10/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Suzanne Justice

Suzanne Justice

Beth Osborne

Katoya Palmer

Danielle Porter

Sunita Shastri

Janice Zahn

Tanisha Davis-Doss

Alexis Harden

Viju McAllister

Niki Sharan

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 2/10/2023
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Black/African American

The organization's co-leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data