Affordable Housing - Catholic Community Services

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
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