Affordable Housing - Catholic Community Services

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CCS Family Center Locations ©PHOTO BY MIKE.COM Hunthausen started as a volunteer. “Our greatest challenge,” he says, “is upholding CCS’s mission to provide care, and actively responding to the call of the Catholic Church in Western Washington to serve those most in need. We are problem solvers, but the most rewarding part of our job is to champion the causes of our clients.” Hunthausen has appeared in court to champion affordable housing and other services for the community he serves. Where will the Tahoma Family Center be in five years “We hope that it continues to grow and to serve more people, such as the homeless and low-income men who will find transitional housing at our new Benedict House in Bremerton,” Hunthausen says. Currently under construction, the facility is slated for occupancy in February 2006. 11 a.m. – The International Foster Care Program The International Foster Care Program provides a safe, stable, nurturing environment for infants and children whom the U.S. government considers refugees. These children can be described as in transition between their native country and a new life in the United States. Their day starts at the family center, in a classroom setting with Colin Glithero, a seasoned teacher with a British accent who speaks fluent Portuguese. Glithero focuses the first half of the day on English basics and a crash course in American culture. After lunch, the children have another class and then their foster parents pick them up. One young girl, a preteen with an engaging smile, has been in the program for two months. Some of the children have walked across the Mexican border into the U.S. Others FACT: In 2004, CCS enabled 1,209 people, many with very low incomes, to receive counseling, and to gain skills and insight to improve interpersonal relationships and family life. have come to this country illegally with their family, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) holds their parents. The International Foster Care Program works closely with INS and other government agencies to ensure that these children are safely returned to their parents. Thirty-five children are currently in the International Foster Care Program, which can serve up to 50. Teachers speak many languages, Northwest Region Bellingham Whatcom Family Center 360-676-2164 Everett Snohomish Family Center 425-257-2111 Mount Vernon Skagit Family Center 360-416-7546 King County Bellevue East King County Family Center 425-284-2211 Seattle Randolph Carter Family and Learning Center 206-323-6336 Kent South King County Family Center 253-854-0077 Southwest Region Aberdeen Grays Harbor Family Center 360-533-9470 Bremerton Kitsap Family Center 360-405-9486 Longview Cowlitz/Wahkiakum Family Center 360-577-2200 Olympia Thurston County Family Center 360-586-2960 Tacoma Pierce County Family Centers 253-383-3697 Vancouver Clark/Skamania Family Center 360-567-2211 The Archdiocesan Housing Authority 206-448-3360 The CCS Long-Term Care System 877-870-1582 The CCS Family Preservation System 800-566-9053 8 Samaritan Magazine Fall 2005
FACT: In 2004, CCS volunteers in Pierce County provided 6,855 hours of in-home services to low-income elderly and disabled adults, assisting 177 clients with transportation, cleaning and grocery shopping. including Spanish, Vietnamese and Portuguese. Children under 6 spend their time at Kids’ Place, the family center’s child care and early learning center. Further information about the program is available from Betsy Higley at 253-502-2694. Noon – Kids’ Place Kids’ Place, a quick walk from the family center lobby, is a child care and early learning facility that provides care Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for up to 50 children per day, ages six weeks through 6 years. Approximately 95 percent of the children are from low-income families; many reside in homeless and domestic violence shelters in the Hilltop area. Kids’ Place serves breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and provides learning opportunities from 9:30 to 11. A noontime visit finds the kids having a meal of pita sandwiches, broccoli with cheese, and applesauce. Upstairs in the infant room, a six-month-old naps underneath the colorful mobiles and painted sky in the room. Services are provided to all children and families, and are based on the best knowledge of child development and early learning. Literacy, field trips, art, music, and outdoor play are important components of the curriculum. Further information is available from Cora Ramirez, the director of Kids’ Place, at 253-305-0836. 1 p.m. – The Phoenix Housing Network A short drive from the family center takes a visitor to the Phoenix Housing Network (PHN) office and the program director, Alan Brown. PHN is a transitional housing program that offers families a new outlook on life. The PHN has 50 apartments located at several sites available for homeless families in transition. Families are able to live in their apartment for one to two years, paying rent based on 30 percent of their income. Families receive support services, including life skills classes, while they work toward their goal of self-sufficiency and permanent housing. PHN is housed in a former parish school building. Seven days a week it offers facilities for showers, laundry, telephones, cooking and classes. Its “Suited for Success” program offers life skills classes for low-income women entering the workforce. 2 p.m. – The Suited for Success Program Barbara Severson, program coordinator, buzzes around the boutique, helping women find the items that will complete their look. Severson makes sure the front office is staffed and works with the state Department of Human Services to facilitate the workshops. According to Severson, “85 percent of getting a job is the attitude you present at the time of the interview. We are here to give these women the resources they need to start and maintain a successful career.” The classes offer soft skills on body language, self-confidence and interview tips. At the conclusion of the three-hour class, women are able to “shop” for five to 10 core outfits and accessories from a boutique in one of the rooms in the school. All of the clothes are donated by career women in the community. The boutique also offers hosiery, jewelry and makeup. All items are in impeccable condition. The Suited for Success program is always in need of larger sizes, hosiery, unused make-up and trouser socks. All clothing should be in readyto-wear condition, clean, and in conservative colors. Donations are accepted Mondays from 8 a.m. to noon, and Wednesdays from 1 to 5 p.m. The boutique is open on Tuesday afternoons from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Further information is available from Barbara Severson at 253-471-5340. –Amy S. Cunningham This “Day in the Life” of the Tahoma Family Center is intended as an overview of the work of Catholic Community Services in urban communities, and as a sample of the programs and services that CCS provides. For more information about the Tahoma Family Center, or to volunteer time or contribute financially, contact Susie Hofstedt at 253-502-2618. w w w.ccsw w.org Catholic Communit y Ser vices of Western Washington 9
Page 1 and 2: Volume 1 Number 1 • Fall 2005 SAM
Page 3 and 4: Trouble on the Home Front By Very R
Page 5 and 6: Hurricane Katrina New Life the Gulf
Page 7: FACT: In 2004, CCS made it possible
Page 11 and 12: Funds donated through CCS Week will
Page 13 and 14: phone cards, games, socks and stamp
Page 15 and 16: Today, AHA and CCS provide more tha
Page 17 and 18: Where You Will Find Us Bellingham F
Page 19 and 20: elationships to serve. The poor and
Page 21 and 22: Home Care Is Our Mission We provid
Page 23 and 24: Benedict House set to open in Febru
Page 25 and 26: Founder (1000-2499) Adobe Systems I
Page 27 and 28: Mr. Leonard J. Kreissl III Mr. and

Affordable Housing - Catholic Community Services

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