Shalimar Gonzales from Solid Ground recently joined host Trae Holiday on The Day with Trae to talk about the organization’s upcoming 50th Anniversary Gala.

“Solid Ground is an anti-poverty organization — full stop. I like to say that when we're talking about anti-poverty work and self-serving the community, what we're talking about is holistic services,” Gonzales said. “So anything from cutting checks for folks who need some rental support, to getting food to people who need it too.”

When Solid Ground first reaches out to individuals and communities, they simply talk to people. Gonzales said this was the number one way to learn how to serve a community with the dignity and humanity that they deserve to be served with.

“It's all about talking to them and reaching out to them and saying, ‘What do you need right now?’ ‘What do your neighbors need?’ ‘What does your community need?’ And then we try to get after it,” Gonzales said. “After that, we say, "What would you think you need a year or two years from now?”

Solid Ground’s next step is to try to develop what those services may be.

“We're always trying to connect people to other resources that they may need in their journey, but also staying connected with them to say ‘you can always come back to solid ground,’ like we're your family, so don't hesitate,” Gonzales said. “All of us have good days and sometimes we have bad days. So sometimes we just need a little support and that's how we start to do our work.”

To Gonzales and the Solid Ground team, it is those utilizing their services, folks who are calling each other and telling their friends who need a little support to try Solid Ground, who are helping to build and serve the community.

“Every single person that's working in human services, and client services, is because it's rooted in their soul, it’s who they are, and it's how they want to be in the world — they want to contribute in that way professionally,” Gonzales said. 

Gonzales pointed out that 50% of Solid Ground’s hires are referrals from current employees or clients who are referring their friends to come work at the organization.

“We actively seek out those individuals,” Gonzales said. “We want folks that want to be in service like that is a full stop, it doesn't matter if you have like the full resume skill sets, we can train all that you can learn, but if you want to serve the community, then you know come work with us because we can, you will be able to do that.”

As the organization approaches its 50th gala anniversary, there's a mix of excitement and reflection on its history.

“It's just amazing to think about how this organization got its start with a neighborhood of community members that said, ‘We’re seeing our community in need, we're seeing our community hurt. And we're not seeing enough resources for us specifically. So let's just create it right,’” Gonzales said. “It’s a sort of model for us.”

The Gala is a time for the Solid Ground community to reflect together on their history and to “remind folks that we live in abundance” as Gonzales put it.

“Even though we are doing anti-poverty work, there is plenty of money, and there's plenty of resources out there, we just have to get them and those resources to the people who need them the most. That's what this 50th anniversary is all about,” Gonzales said.

Converge’s own Omari Salisbury is set to be the keynote speaker for the 50th Gala anniversary. Gonzales shared that she had been following Salisbury’s journey for several years and felt she needed to share his knowledge with the Solid Ground community.

For those interested in attending the 50th Anniversary Gala on May 8, tickets can be purchased directly from solid-ground.org. 

For the latest updates on community celebrations, join us live with Trae every weekday at 11 am on Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae YouTube Channel.