University Temple United Methodist Church incorporated Roots as a 501(c)(3) in August 2000. University Temple created this organization in order to support and expand its local mission programs serving homeless and street involved youth and young adults. In April 2002, Shalom Zone amended its By Laws and expanded its Board of Directors in order to transition from a church-based organization to a community-based organization founded in faith.
Roots is committed to serving persons in the University District who lack the essentials of food, shelter and clothing, with a focus on homeless and street-involved young adults (ages 18-25). As the University District’s newest nonprofit organization, Roots has brought together a unique and wide-ranging set of players in the University District including the business community, the University and advocacy groups as well as service providers to support existing critical services. ROOTS currently oversees the University Temple Young Adult Shelter, the only shelter program in King County dedicated to providing for the unique needs of homeless and street-involved young adults (18 –25 years of age). In addition, Roots sponsors Friday Feast, a community feeding program that has repeatedly received top honors from Real Change. Presently, primary funding for Shalom Zone comes from City of Seattle Human Services Department and University Temple United Methodist Church.
Beyond sustaining current exemplary human service programs, as a new organization, Roots believes that the University District community as a whole is on the verge of discovering innovations in the collaborative delivery of human services. One possible additional role for Roots is to serve as a convener of a roundtable where representatives of all U District service providers and other community representatives could identify common challenges and needs, and then secure the resources to address those challenges and needs. Collaborative efforts/initiatives could include collaborative funding proposals in support of coordinated services across multiple organizations, shared administrative functions, common volunteer recruitment, training and administration, etc.
Roots is a University District organization based in faith and committed to social justice that:
Roots Board of Directors