About Us
Mission
St. Andrew's Housing Group is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with limited income on King County’s Eastside, empowering these families to succeed by providing housing and access to services while strengthening local communities and encouraging diversity.
Our History
Founded in 1987 by members of Bellevue's Saint Andrew's Lutheran Church, SAHG became independently incorporated in 1989 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Until 1993, SAHG was a volunteer led organization. During this time, SAHG volunteers worked diligently to learn the business of developing affordable housing, establish SAHG within the market, create networking relationships, and build a solid reputation as a trustworthy developer of affordable housing. In 1992, SAHG opened its first housing development, Andrew's Arms, offering 14 units of affordable housing in Issaquah, Washington.
In 1993, SAHG's first Executive Director was hired and the groundbreaking work of the volunteers began to pay off as SAHG entered into a period of dramatic growth and accomplishment. Today, SAHG provides 318 units of affordable housing on King County's Eastside, serving more than 750 individuals and families. SAHG provides affordable housing in the following Eastside communities: Mercer Island, Issaquah, Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland.
SAHG is headed by Executive Director, Mike Nielsen, and operated by eight qualified professional staff, an engaged and effective Board of Directors and a strong committee led corps of more than 150 volunteers. The Board of Directors includes members from the Eastside and Seattle who bring experience in commercial, industrial and mixed-use housing construction and management, commercial and nonprofit real estate development, community development finance and real estate law. Each Board member financially contributes each year, actively participates in fundraising and serves on at least one committee.
The Need
The increasingly high cost of living in Washington State is forcing families to move into areas with no transportation, few job opportunities and little personal security. In the worst cases, these families end up on the street. SAHG is creating solutions to this problem by bringing affordable housing to King County’s Eastside, the most populous county in Washington State. Consider the following statistics:
- In East King County, 14% of households (nearly 20,000) are low income. Almost 5% of Eastside inhabitants live below the poverty line.
- A person in King County has to earn $22.40 per hour, more than twice the state minimum wage, to afford to rent a modest two-bedroom home.
- Even though 13% of Eastside households earn less than 30% of area median income, fewer than 1% of Eastside housing units are affordable to that income group.
- Eastside rents are the highest suburban rents in the county (Terra Property Analytics)
Strategic Plan
SAHG is preparing to implement goals outlined in our new 5-year Strategic Plan, which was launched in February 2007. The successful accomplishment of these goals will result in greater community awareness of the need for affordable housing, increased production of housing units and a new resident services program that will allow us to better meet the needs of those living in SAHG properties.
Community Advocacy
The need for affordable housing in East King County has become a crisis that impacts us all. We believe that our community deserves to have greater awareness of this crisis and how it impacts transportation, education, healthcare and costs to taxpayers. SAHG will work on advocacy and community outreach efforts in new ways by implementing a community outreach effort, providing resources to educate the greater community and by helping to create new solutions for the housing challenges faced by Eastside communities.
Increase Property Portfolio
This year alone, SAHG has added 78 units of Eastside housing, has begun rehabilitation on another 38 units and has taken steps to secure new properties for future development. SAHG’s hope is that public awareness will help us to aggressively expand the production of housing units over the coming five years.
Resident Services Program
SAHG recognizes the need to provide a link for families and individuals to resources in the community. In response to this need, a Resident Services Pilot Program has been developed. This program has received strong support from the community and our partner organizations and is scheduled to launch in 2007.
For Further Information
Check out one of the following pages:
Our 2007-2008 Annual Report| SAHG Staff | |
|---|---|
Melora Hiller |
Hester Winn |
Eric Evans |
Marchelle Mertens |
Sue Bliven |
Meg Colombi |
Jennifer Daly |
Sara Cox |
*Position Open* |
Julie Strain |
| SAHG Board of Directors | |
|---|---|
Marni Wright, President |
Jason Anderson, Treasurer |
Jim Long, Vice President |
Larry Abner |
Lainey Alai Malo |
Linda Bergam |
Eric Campbell |
Paul Dressel |
Darel Harrison |
Judy Gowdy |
Mary Lorna Meade |
Jack Morrison |
Judd Lees |
Position Currently Available |
Position Currently Available |
Position Currently Available |
Position Currently Available |
Position Currently Available |