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Kids’ Playroom is Out of This World

Grassroots is so excited to celebrate four girl scouts from Troop 1528 who spent seven weeks painting a mural on a wall in our Kids’ Playroom for their Silver Award project. They did a beautiful job!

The Silver Award is the highest award scouts in 6th through 8th grade can earn and shows proof of leadership, organization, determination and most of all, dedication to improving the community. Archana, Colleen, Isabella and Sophie were interested in helping people and met with with our team at Grassroots to learn more about the organization. When the girls realized that Grassroots was refurbishing the playroom, they jumped at the idea of helping out with a mural. Isabella created several potential designs. After everyone agreed on a design, the girls raised funds and budgeted, purchased supplies, and figured out the schedule and logistics of painting in an active playroom.

The scouts let us know that they have truly enjoyed every part of this community project particularly painting with friends, getting to understand Grassroots as an organization, and meeting the variety of people in our vibrant community, particularly some of the terrific children. Grassroots is so grateful for their generous contributions of creativity, time and resources to add a colorful, planetary dimension to the play space, and it is sure to spark creativity and imagination among the children during their playtime in the shelter.

Thank you so much Archana, Colleen, Isabella and Sophie! You are amazing, and you have truly made a difference!

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Joe Eldred

Director of Homeless Services

Joe Eldred joined Grassroots in 2023 as director of Homeless Services where he oversees the emergency shelter programs and the Grassroots Day Resource Center. He started his career in homeless services nearly 20 years ago, having previously worked in education, after participating in a homeless count in Seattle. He has held every position in affordable housing from Onsite Property Manager to Director of Housing and Property Management.

Over his years, Joe has run all types of housing offerings including those for individuals experiencing homelessness and substance use issues, seniors, farm workers, and those with disabilities and HIV/AIDS. He has also worked with many different types of funding programs including HUD, PRAC 202, PRAC 811, USDA Rural Housing funds and funding services designed to break the cycle of homelessness like Continuum of Care and the Maryland Homelessness Solutions Program. Joe has had the opportunity to see how housing programs differ throughout the country, working in Seattle, Chicago, Harrisburg, PA and Ventura, CA, among others.

Nancy Campbell

Sr. Director of Operations & Corporate Compliance Officer

Nancy Campbell supervises the operations of Grassroots, including HR, finance, emergency shelter, homeless services, case management and facilities. She has more than 30 years of experience in managing organizations’ operations activities, mostly in the human services field. 

Community support is a passion for Nancy. She feels that mental health and homelessness often co-occur, and her goal is to develop strong strategic plans that meet the needs of Grassroots’ clients. She looks to make a difference by effectively working with our programs and staff to explore what we can offer to the community. She pays special focus on efforts that help individuals adjust while in the emergency shelter, as well as those that help them achieve stable housing. Nancy has her PMP, master’s degree in Psychology and MBA, and is currently in school to pursue a Doctorate in Leadership and Organizational Management.

Laura Willemin, LCSW-C

Sr. Director of Clinical and Crisis Services

Laura Willemin oversees all of the clinical and crisis services at Grassroots, including the crisis line, walk-in services, 988 crisis chat and text services, Mobile Crisis Team, substance use disorder program, urgent care mental health services and Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. She joined Grassroots in 2021 having previously served as manager of the Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Services for the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington. She also worked in Prince George’s Child Protective Services, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children in the community.

Laura’s career has been concentrated in intense, fast-paced, high-acuity, safety-related and high-risk areas of practice. She appreciates the opportunity to support individuals and families during the most difficult or intense circumstances they may experience through the lifespan. She has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Social Work and is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW-C).