Community Connections Partner: SOUND Behavioral Health

For nearly 60 years, SOUND Behavioral Health has been a cornerstone of community mental health and substance use disorder services in Washington State, supporting King County’s most vulnerable populations. Last year alone, through its 16 area clinics — as well as in homes, shelters, hospitals, schools and on the streets — SOUND provided critical care to more than 15,000 children, youths and adults navigating crisis, poverty, trauma, addiction, mental illness and homelessness. Notably, 85 percent of those served live below the poverty line, and 17 percent are under the age of 18. 

SOUND’s mission is to improve lives by providing equitable, recovery-focused behavioral health care for all community members via innovative, data-driven and evidence-based programs that have produced scores of radical, life-changing outcomes. These 28 programs serve a diverse range of individuals, including the deaf and hard of hearing, veterans seeking housing, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, survivors of trauma and those in acute crisis, among others, and offers a high quality, large scale and wide-ranging scope of care to many individuals who might otherwise go without support.  

December 2024 marked the successful launch of the organization’s Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team (MRRCT), in partnership with King County, Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) and Crisis Connections. SOUND Behavioral Health now has a fleet of fully equipped vans providing 24/7 crisis response services across the North, East and South regions of King County, responding to calls dispatched through 988. By prioritizing safety, dignity and connection to services, MRRCT helps stabilize those in crises while reducing hospitalizations and incarceration. 

Community Partner Testimony: “SOUND Behavioral Health is thrilled to partner with the Seattle Symphony through its Community Connections program, offering our clients and mental health care workers the opportunity to attend concerts at no cost. For many, this marks their first experience at the symphony — introducing them to an artform that has been shown to alleviate depression and anxiety. As one of our Child and Family Clinicians shared, ‘Art and creative expression help our clients express things they may not even realize they’re holding onto. It can also provide a safer way to process experiences they aren’t yet ready to talk about.’ We recognize that addressing mental health and substance use disorders requires collective effort. Through partnerships like these, SOUND Behavioral Health strives to enhance the well-being of our entire community.” 

SOUND Behavioral Health is one of more than 60 partners in the Seattle Symphony’s Community Connections program, which provides complimentary tickets to nonprofit organizations across the Puget Sound region. 

In the 2024/2025 season, the Community Connections program, overseen by the Seattle Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement team, served a wide variety of organizations. Over nine months, more than 30 community partners visited Benaroya Hall for Symphony concert programs, including Fauré Requiem and Día de Muertos. The program provided free tickets to more than 100 Seattle Symphony and Benaroya Hall performances, and over 2,800 tickets were reserved by our Community Connections partners. 

Testimony from Community Connections partner Academia Latina: “Just a line to thank you for the wonderful concerts. The children LOVED them. Their ages ranged from 7 to 16. Most of the children that received the complimentary tickets reside or resided in a low-income apartment complex. Their families escaped their countries due to violence and encountered it again in America. But this concert was healing and worries were put behind, at least temporarily. ... You and your friends at Benaroya helped us make these children feel loved and safe.”