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KING COUNTY JOURNAL
Editorial - April 7, 2001
Have you heard the news?
The Eastside safety net is at risk!
by Pamela Mauk
Family Resource Center
Recently I received a list from a news organization requesting my input on what issues are most pressing to me. Should there be more news coverage of environmental issues? Is the business climate most important? Transportation?
All important, I think. However, I review the list in order to put a check by health and human service issues. Given the deep foreboding shared by agencies, surely this is the year to focus on nonprofit community services and their real costs.
Oh, no, I note. Once again, they are not even listed. Haven’t they heard the news?
The nonprofit infrastructure on the Eastside is at risk. That is, the systems you may assume are in place to care for the disadvantaged or deliver assistance to you when, surprise, you need it, are in danger of becoming scarce. Funding threats to what United Way calls our "safety net" are the talk of most meetings of nonprofit professionals, who ask, "Don't people realize what is happening?" There seems so little notice by the community at large.
What are nonprofits saying?
A recent survey of 30 agencies was conducted by the Eastside Human Services Alliance (EHSA), followed by interviews with 13 Eastside groups and 10 regional leaders. Conclusion number one: inadequate funding is the biggest challenge to service organizations. The issue most affecting the quality of life? 55% cited lack of basic services such as housing, health care (including mental health), transportation and childcare. Agency leaders seem most frustrated.with the lack of the key societal supports that are needed to stabilize clients over the long term.
I recently talked to executive directors at the eighteen nonprofits operating from Family Resource Center, the Eastside's Human Services Campus. (Together, they serve 40,000 people each year from the campus.) Listen to the voices of your Eastside service leaders.
"There are many more homeless now, many of them working people. The financial needs of clients are much greater now."
"There is a large bias against mental health treatment. Many can have their problems controlled, but funding sources are limited."
"The Eastside’s not keeping up with the need for affordable housing. We’re losing ground."
"We haven't had an adjustment in our insurance or government reimbursement rates since 1995."
"We have all these funding difficulties, yet the client base is adding up. Too many people need services, and funding is being cut."
Yes, it is exhausting to hear. What about solutions?
Above all, "funders should coordinate to create stable, reliable and adequate funding streams,” the EHSA survey concludes. Most complain that health and human services are never mandated and always on the cutting block. This year’s budget from Olympia has had health and human service organizations fearing the worst.
The top recommendation for agencies: greater coordination. The survey summary states, “There should be more collaboration and knowledge of Eastside agencies. There should be easier access to comprehensive services.”
Family Resource Center provides an accessible campus with wide-ranging and complementary services. Our day-to-day operations are directed to increasing collaboration and communication among Eastside organizations. However, given the stressors on agencies, Family Resource Center leadership is not sitting smugly pointing to our collaborative mission. We are seeking ways to lessen the burdens on Eastside nonprofit organizations.
How can you assist?
Get involved with an agency. Become knowledgeable. Ask: what else is needed? Who is being left out?
You can get started by attending the Eastside Volunteer Fair at Family Resource Center from 4 pm to 7 pm on April 12 (sponsored by Microsoft with support from Redmond National Bank). It's a casual, drop-in, have-an-appetizer, enjoy-the-jazz evening where you will learn about ways that you, your family, your company’s volunteer team or your faith community can support one or more of almost three dozen participating health and human service organizations from throughout the Eastside. You can weave yourself into the community and become a better representative for the services that interest you.
Next, return your own media questionnaires and ask to be kept informed about services we all need for a healthy, dynamic, and caring community.
Pamela Mauk is executive director of Family Resource Center, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. Mauk lives in Sammamish.
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