Snohomish County has awarded $500,000 to Korean Community Service Center and The Clearwater School to operate Youth and Family Resource Centers in South Snohomish County.

According to a county news release, such resource centers provide individualized services ranging from public benefit navigation to employment connections. The awards come after the county issued a request for proposals in January. The funding is from the county’s federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation.

“The pandemic has been challenging for working families across our county, which means the need for supportive services skyrocketed,” said County Executive Dave Somers. “That’s why we’re continuing to invest our federal recovery dollars in Youth and Family Resource Centers. They have a proven positive impact on our most vulnerable communities and create opportunities for families to receive personal assistance from a community-based provider focused on meeting their needs.”

Added County Council Chair Jared Mead: “Families are the backbone of our community, and I am incredibly proud of the resilience that Snohomish County has demonstrated throughout our recovery from the pandemic.

“This investment in Youth and Family Resource Centers is a great opportunity to support the work that community organizations are doing to serve families in need,” added Mead, who represents the council’s 4th District, which includes Mountlake Terrace and Brier.

“These two resource centers will be instrumental in building community throughout our county and will help showcase the wonderful diversity we have here in the third district and beyond,” said District 3 Councilmember Strom Peterson, who represents Edmonds, Lynnwood and Woodway.

Youth and Family Resource Centers are operated by community-based organizations uniquely designed to respond to the local needs of the communities they serve. They provide a critical point of contact for individuals and/or families at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI) to address their immediate needs while building connections to additional local services. Services provided have a specific focus on mitigating socioeconomic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Youth and Family Resource Centers support these five core tenets:

• Family Centeredness: Families as integral to the program’s success
• Family Strengthening: Supporting families to be strong, healthy, and safe
• Family Diversity: Acknowledging and respecting families’ diverse backgrounds
• Community Building: Engaging families in community building processes
• Evaluation: Continuous quality improvement to achieve positive results for families

Snohomish County awarded $250,000 in capacity-building funds to Korean Community Service Center (KCSC) to support efforts to become a certified Youth and Family Resource Center. KCSC provides direct services to address the impacts of structural inequities, including pro bono legal aid, Medicaid enrollment, mental health counseling, access to public housing, senior services, and case management. Pandemic response efforts including addressing food insecurity, providing rental assistance, promoting digital equity, providing COVID-19 tests and vaccine access.

“Over the past decade, our local Korean American community has continued to grow,” said KSCC Executive Director Joomi Kim. “The pandemic and rise in anti-Asian sentiment have revealed barriers to meeting basic needs, accessing culturally appropriate health and behavioral health services, and supporting resilient families and youth. KCSC is very excited about this wonderful opportunity to invest in the health and wellness of Snohomish County families and community.”

Snohomish County has also awarded $250,000 in capacity-building funds to The Clearwater School, in partnership with WAGRO Foundation and Mujeres con Actitud Latina, to support efforts to become a certified Youth and Family Resource Center. The organizations’ collaboration – the Family Well Being Center – provides pandemic prevention and care through resource distribution, vaccination clinics, education and wrap-around services in neighborhoods and communities. The organizations also provide workshops on issues ranging from parent and youth education, health and wellness, food access, and support for LGBTQIA+ youth and families.

“We are very excited and grateful to receive this support from Snohomish County,” said Stephanie Sarantos, executive director, The Clearwater School. “Through our work in crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic we saw broad discrepancies in access to services across diverse communities. Many immigrant, refugee and BIPOC families face barriers in obtaining basic care. We draw on trusting relationships with community members to more effectively bring culturally sensitive and relevant services into neighborhoods where people gather.”