LAKE STEVENS FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER

Written by Linda Rudat - LSFC Program Coordinator II

Behind the Lake Stevens library and adjacent to North Cove Park sits an unassuming little green building with a playground in front.  It is the Lake Stevens Family Center, and I have been working there as a program coordinator for a little over two years.

As a former Christian Educator with experience in volunteer management and program development, I thought I would be working with local volunteers to offer a wide variety of programming to respond to local needs and initiatives.  That is still an important part of my job.  But I discovered early on that I loved to meet the people who drop in, listen to their stories, and direct them to community resources, education, and assistance.  The more needs came across my desk, the more hungry I became to find and catalog resources and opportunities.  The fruit of that research now fills two bulging resource binders.

The way we operate at the Family Center, our doors are open and drop-ins come in as they please.  People with donations, people with questions, new residents seeking connections, youth in need of community service, people in crisis  – they all turn to the Family Center as a welcoming place to find their footing or make their contributions.  Whether we are throwing an impromptu celebration for someone who announces a sobriety anniversary, congratulating a court-ordered youth for completing his community service and discovering new strengths within himself, receiving a generous gift of handmade quilts from a crafting club, or pouring a cup of coffee and providing a shoulder for an overwhelmed grandmother raising her grandchildren, every day is a tapestry of both the highs and the lows of community life.

What has changed in the last two months is that the needs have become more critical and the resources available to respond have been disappearing or diminishing. 

Every day has had at least one person whose personal world is collapsing - homes in foreclosure, disconnected utilities, children sleeping on floors, unemployment, depleted savings, hunger, spikes in family stress and domestic violence, relatives moving in to share limited space – these are the issues simmering under the surface.  It is hard to come home at night and not think about the person whose child has one pair of pants that they wash every night, the senior couple deciding which of their medical conditions is the most life-threatening and deserves their limited prescription dollars, the teen living in her car asking for food that can be eaten without heat or refrigeration, the soaking wet domestic violence victim who walked here to get emergency food vouchers, or the former generous donor who just sold the last of his assets to pay a hopeless pile of bills.

There is great value in simply listening to a person's story compassionately, but that is not enough.  Many times, we are able to say that because of donors in our community who care, we can offer a warm coat, a blanket, food from our emergency pantry, household basics from our Community Closet, and so on.  We can offer them a computer for job searching, a bulletin board for posting their skills or items for barter, a support group for dealing with violence at home, or a volunteer opportunity for their adult child with disabilities who feels disconnected.  We pull out our resources books and scour them for every possible alternative to address their most pressing concerns.  We help them apply for DSHS benefits right in our office, advocate in Spanish and English, and equip them with money management and job search skills.  When we are able to secure grants, we can offer direct emergency funding for basic needs.

For an office that is only open 30 hours a week, we often see over 200 people each month who have never come to the Family Center before.  A month with over 1500 people who are given information or referral, or engaged in volunteerism, is the norm.  This is on top of the long term planning involved in anchoring and hosting such large community events as National Night Out Against Crime and Family Safe Downtown Halloween.  We also try to address community needs systemically by participating in community coalitions such as the Drug/Violence Prevention Coalition, Domestic Violence Coalition, Community Mobilization Council, Developmental Disability Coalition,, and Financial Asset Development Coalition, all of Snohomish County.

Since I moved here in 1991, and especially since I began working at the Family Center, I have come to view the Lake Stevens community as a place of enormous good will, generosity, and remarkable cooperative effort among civic clubs, city staff, police and fire departments, the business community,  and non-profit organizations.  There is much to celebrate.  There is also a disparity of lifestyles ranging from gorgeous lakefront homes, middle class homes with silently collapsing economies, to chronically poor, minimum wage workers struggling toward brighter futures.

What can we do?  Give.  Volunteer.  Advocate.  Think about what you do best and share it with someone.  Plant an extra row in your garden for the Food Bank.  Recycle gently used items by sharing them with someone in need.  Flood your county government with urgent appeals that local services be preserved (we have postcards in our office to make it easy!).  Designate the Family Center on your Albertson's Preferred card, United Way campaign, or employer sponsored giving program.  Adopt a family for Christmas.  Take a gift tag from a Giving Tree and fulfill a child’s wish for Christmas.  Ask your neighbor how they are doing and linger to hear the whole answer.  Beef up your parenting skills.  Welcome newcomers.  Look beyond a disability to see a person.  Say a warm hello to a young person who looks “different”.  And support your Family Center in whatever way you can, so we can continue to provide an oasis of rich connections and meaningful resources to anyone who enters our doors.

Get connected to services you need for you and your family.  Linda Rudat (Click here) can help you seek out resources to help you become sustainable and successful in maintaining a healthy safe home life.  Her extensive book of resources and diverse experience will connect you to resources throughout the county.

• Emergency Sewer Assistance
• Emergency Food Assistance
• Basic Food Program

The Lake Stevens Family Support Center is owned by YOU the community.

Family Support is based on providing services within a community that are responsive to the needs of our individual community.  We are currently conducting our Annual Community Needs Assessment and value your input. 

It is important that all of the services that we provide are services that:

• Residents in our community need and want
• Are going to help build a stronger, safer more resilient community for everyone
• We are not duplicating services already available in our community
• Build partnerships and involve residents in their processes
• Are meaningful and sustainable

Please take a moment to give us your opinions and have your voice heard - take a couple minutes to fill out the  Community Assessment.doc (click here) your opinion is important to us. 

Return to kfriend@lcsnw.org (click here).   THANK YOU!  We are collecting assessments through June 30, 2009.

Basic household items from baby items, cookware and blankets to dining room tables are available (free of charge) to community members in need. Accessible during business hours.  Call (425) 397-7433 for information and item availability.

Parity and equality are two things that can impact a child's life in a positive way.  It is our belief that all children should have the same opportunities as their peers and friends.  Recognizing that economic deprivatiy can often keep families from having the ability to provide some things that other families can afford we partner with our community to help close the gap by giving to our community children five times throughout the year.

•  Back to School Supplies
• Christmas Giving
• Community Easter Basket
• Thanksgiving
• Warm Winter Coats (and blankets)

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Persons needing access to services available through DSHS can meet with a case worker and complete all necessary requirements locally - including screening and case management.  Appointments are available every Tuesday at LSFC - Call (425) 397-7433 to set a confidential and respectful appointment.

A youth diversion program conducted in partnership with Denny Youth Center and the Juvenile Justice System.  CAB provides youth misdemeanor offenders ages 10-17 the opportunity to be accountable for their illegal actions within their own community, avoiding juvenile records, trials or incarceration.  This highly effective program places the accounability of youth on their shoulders and engages them in positive community service projects; building stronger connection to community and reducing the probability of reoffending.

Annual offering of the "Strengthening Families" parenting class.  This seven week course is designed to engage parents and children (ages 10-14) with tools and skills in communication, family management and prevention of adverse home conditions.  It is a fun, interactive and proven researched base program that builds family!

For anyone who has been affected by our recent downturn in the economy, we have a Job and Barter Board available to all community member for posting of:

• Job opportunities
• Skills for trade
• Job search tools and offerings
• Part-time and temporary community positions available
• Projects for hire or trade
• Networking, Trading, Bartering .... and more.

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Youth ages 11-18 are invited to be part of a proactive group of teens that are making a difference in our community FOR teens.  Open to all youth interested in having a voice in what projects need to be implemented in our community that will make a difference to them!

English communication practice for Spanish Speaking families.  Learn to communicate with teachers, store clerks, service providers and more.  Based on conversational communication skill building.

One of the scariest parts of growing up is the transition from school life to the work force.  JobPrep classes help prepare teens for this change in their lives.  The cirriculum includes filling out applications, writing resumes, job interview protocol, and job retention.