Mark Harrison / The Seattle Times

Hinda Kipnis, 77, who has severe rheumatoid arthritis, relies on help from Liuda Kazakova, a home-care worker with Solid Ground. The agency is shutting down its home-care operation.

The first to go

Editor, The Times:

Nonprofit organizations that are being forced to close their doors, such as Solid Ground, is surely a sign of the economic troubles this country is facing and the hardships that are to come. ["Home-care agency to shut down: 'We've reached the end of a cliff,'." Times, page one, Nov. 11.]

Unfortunately, it will be nonprofit organizations that will see the effects of the economic struggles first and most likely the hardest. They rely on donations and government funding; when these funds are cut, where do they have to turn?

Hearing that these organizations, which serve those most in need, are struggling to keep their heads above the water makes me wonder what will happen to those who benefit from those organizations. I watched my grandmother thrive living on her own with in-home assistance like that provided by Solid Ground. Once she was placed in a nursing home, her independence and health quickly deteriorated.

Solid Ground is allowing its patients to live life to their fullest and it is a sad sight to see them having to close their doors. I wish them the best of luck and I thank them for their service to the Seattle community.

-- Kirsten Phillips, Kirkland