Community Partners

Stronger Together Through Community Partnership

We could not do this work without our community partners. Each partnership expands the services, resources, and opportunities available to our participants, helping us respond to needs that no single organization can meet alone. Together, we create stronger pathways toward housing, employment, recovery, stability, and long-term independence.

A Network Built Around the Participant

Every participant’s needs are different, and lasting stability often requires support from more than one organization. Our community partner network connects participants with coordinated assistance for housing, employment, treatment, legal needs, child care, food, clothing, and other essential resources—while keeping each participant’s goals, choices, and dignity at the center.

Evergreen Empowerment Group (EEG)

Evergreen Empowerment Group is a Tacoma-based nonprofit that helps people overcome legal and economic barriers affecting employment, education, and housing. EEG particularly supports low-income residents, military community members, people with past convictions, and BIPOC entrepreneurs through legal-system information, resources, and opportunities for economic self-sufficiency.

How EEG partners with EASE: EEG connects our participants with legal aid and expungement services, helping remove barriers to housing, employment, education, and long-term stability.

Living Grace Church Tacoma

Living Grace is a diverse, community-centered Christian church in Tacoma’s urban core. The church brings together people from all walks of life for worship, biblical teaching, spiritual growth, and service, while also preparing ministry workers through its School of Urban Ministry.

How Living Grace partners with EASE: Living Grace provides a welcoming, dedicated space where our outreach team can meet with prospective participants and complete assessments for program entry.

BrightSpark Early Learning Services

How EEG partners with EASE: EEG connects our participants with legal aid and expungement services, helping remove barriers to housing, employment, education, and long-term stability.

LASA Lakewood

LASA is a community-supported nonprofit dedicated to preventing homelessness and helping people achieve housing stability in Lakewood and the surrounding Pierce County community. Its services include rent and utility assistance, housing-related deposits, temporary hotel assistance, transportation support, and access to free showers and laundry through its Hygiene Center.

How LASA partners with EASE: LASA refers participants for services and shares timely information about available housing openings.

BrightSpark Early Learning Services

BrightSpark is a community-based organization supporting families, caregivers, and early-learning providers throughout King and Pierce counties. Founded in 1990, the organization works to expand access to high-quality child care, strengthen early-learning programs, and nurture child-centered, antiracist communities.

How BrightSpark partners with EASE: BrightSpark helps our participants access child care and early-childhood learning opportunities, giving families essential support as they work toward greater stability and independence.

Jo Ellen’s Safe Haven

Jo Ellen’s Safe Haven is a community-driven Pierce County nonprofit dedicated to reducing homelessness and helping people move toward safe, stable futures. The organization provides outreach, food and clothing assistance, peer counseling, wellness checks, daily living support, and referrals for employment, housing, pet care, and other essential services.

How Jo Ellen’s partners with EASE: Jo Ellen’s collaborates with us on community outreach and provides participants with food, clothing, and other essential assistance that supports their immediate needs and dignity.

TRAAP Services

TRAAP Services provides rapid, practical support for people seeking recovery from substance use disorder, including same-day treatment arrangements, peer support, and transportation to available treatment beds across Washington. TRAAP also coordinates sober-living placements to support continuity after treatment.

How TRAAP partners with EASE: When participants are ready for treatment, TRAAP helps them access care, provides transportation—even when the available bed is in another part of Washington—and helps arrange continued recovery support after discharge. TRAAP also sends referrals to EASE and provides grant-writing assistance to our organization.

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More Than a Referral

We believe a referral should be more than handing someone a phone number. Whenever possible, EASE and its partners create warm connections, share timely information, reduce barriers, and help participants successfully access the services they need.

Partnership may include:

Providing or coordinating direct services
Accepting and making participant referrals
Sharing timely information about available resources
Offering safe space for outreach and assessments
Assisting with transportation and treatment access
Contributing professional knowledge or specialized support
Working together to identify and close gaps in community services

Our Commitment to Our Partners

EASE is committed to being a responsive, respectful, and dependable partner. We value open communication, shared problem-solving, participant choice, and collaboration that honors the strengths and expertise each organization brings to the table.

We are deeply grateful to every organization and community member who shares time, space, expertise, and resources with EASE participants. Your partnership makes more complete, person-centered support possible.

Become a Community Partner

Are you interested in joining our community partner network? We would love to connect and explore how we can work together to expand resources, strengthen support, and create more opportunities for the people we serve.

Email support@easeshes.org to start the conversation.