Eastside Interfaith Social Concerns Council Minutes

NEXT MEETING:
Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m.

PROGRAM: OLIVE CREST: HOMES AND SERVICES FOR ABUSED CHILDREN

Location:
Bristol Hall,
ST. Margaret's Episcopal Church
4228 Factorial Blvd. SE
Bellevue (Across from Newport High School).

CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order and conducted by EISCC Co-president Lloyd Van Vactor.

OPENING PRAYER: The meeting was opened with prayer offered by Rev. Linda Roddis of First Congregational Church of Bellevue.

SELF-INTRODUCTIONS: Self-introductions were made by 27 members and guests.

MINUTES: Minutes of the January 13, 2009 meeting were approved as distributed.

TREASURER'S REPORT:EISCC Treasurer Pat McDermott (pmcdermott@amnis.com) reported that as of 1/31/2009 cash balances totaled $165,278. Since this is the first month of the year no meaningful trends are noted. Nothing unusual was recorded during the month.

EISCC dues statements will be going out within the next few days. Yearly EISCC dues are $40 for member congregations and $25 for member agencies.

CONGREGATIONS FOR THE HOMELESS:
Nadine Bentsen reported that the CFH homeless men’s shelter is currently at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. An additional 2 men have transitioned from the shelter into permanent housing. She also said that as the national economic crisis deepens, “things are going to get more interesting.”

She also announced that as shelter clients move into homes of their own, they are in need of vacuum cleaners. If you or someone in your congregation has a working vacuum cleaner to donate, please contact Congregations for the Homeless Director Steve Roberts (206-295-7803 or stever@cfhomeless.org).

THE SOPHIA WAY: Sophia Way Executive Director, Helen Leuzzi (425-653-5893 or director@sophiaway.org) reported that the homeless women’s shelter has provided 300 bed nights so far.

Congregations are encouraged to become involved with aiding homeless women by working with the Sophia Way, a program which journeys with women along the pathway from life on the street to life in a home. Women invited into the overnight shelter program participate in life skills classes preparing them for independent living. After completing the program women are recommended into our subsidized housing program where they can live in an apartment of their own for up to 2 years.

How to become involved:

* Make a dinner meal (similar to the Women's Center's lunches) - meals@SophiaWay.org
* Teach a Life Skills class on Wednesday nights from 7:30 to 8:30 - LifeSkills@SophiaWay.org
* Adopt an Apartment - bring used items to set up an apartment
* Become a Weekend Host - Friday and Saturday nights from 7pm to 7am welcome 8 homeless women into your faith home.

For more information about how you and your congregation can help, please contact Helen Leuzzi at 425-653-5893 or director@sophiaway.org.

THANK YOU, RICK RUSSELL: EISCC Co-president Marilyn Rands, on behalf of the entire EISCC membership, formally thanked outgoing EISCC Co-president Rick Russell for his years of service in that position, for his wisdom and gentle guiding hand, and for his continued commitment to EISCC and to helping make the Eastside a better place for all its residents.

CONGREGATIONS FOR KIDS: CFK Executive Director Nancy Jacobs (425-883-6406; bnjacobs@verizon.net) reports that the CFK steering committee meets this month to begin preparing for next fall’s school supply and backpack campaign. Congregations that have not previously participated are encouraged to contact Nancy to be part of this much-needed and inspiring effort.

PROGRAM: COMMUNITIES COUNT: A REPORT ON THE STRENGTH OF KING COUNTY’S COMMUNITIES. Molly McNees with King County Public Health (263-8771 or molly.mcnees@kingcounty.gov) presented information from the 2008 Communities Count report which details important trends in the county that affect the quality of life of all residents.

Among the report’s findings:

* The majority of King County residents reported good quality in many aspects of life. On measures of neighborhood safety, social cohesion, stress and social support, community members were generally positive about their neighborhoods and their lives

* The population of King County is estimated to be 1,884,200, an increase of 9% since the 2000 Census. The County’s fastest growing age groups are people ages 45 to 64 and over 74 years old. The County is increasing in racial diversity. For the County as a whole and for Seattle, South and North Regions, the Hispanic/Latino population grew faster than any other racial/ethnic group. The percentage of King County residents who are immigrants increased substantially, from 9% in 1990 to 15% in 2000. More than 46 languages are spoken in King County and almost one in five persons speak a language other than English.

* King County is making progress in many areas. The 2008 report finds decline in the level of food insecurity in the County (but it should be noted that this finding is based on data collected before the recent economic crisis forced so many local households out of work and that hunger relief programs are currently reporting large spikes in requests for help.) High school graduation rates improved slightly in many school districts and infant mortality continued to decline. Rates of violent crime and auto theft were down and motor vehicle injuries and deaths decreased. Adult smoking rates continued to decline. While far too few people are finding alternatives to driving alone to work, the percent that do drive alone has declined slightly. Water conservation is in evidence and farmers markets are growing in number and size.

But in basic ways, many challenges still exist.

* Almost half of all jobs available in King County do not pay a living wage.

o 24% of jobs don’t pay a living wage ($26,000 a year) for a single person.
o 76% of jobs don’t pay a living wage for a single parent with a toddler and a school-age child.
o 64% of jobs don’t pay a living wage ($50,000 a year) for a 4-person family with one wage earner.

One of the main reasons for the substantial rise in living wage income required in the Northwest in the past five year is the rise in health care costs.

* In 2007, 9.9% of King County’s population lived below the poverty level, up from 8.4% in 1999. Poverty among children increased as well. In 1999, 9.9% of children under age 18 were living in poverty, while that population increased to 14.3% in 2007.

* But poverty itself does not tell the whole story. The gap between rich and poor continues to grow. One way to illustrate the growing gap between the richest and poorest in King County is to measure income distribution across the population. The poorest 20% of households (those earning less than $29,400 a year), together earned less than 4% of the total income in the county in 2007. But the richest 20% of households (with annual incomes above $124,800) earn 49% of the total county income. African American households earned 51% of what white households earned, and Latino households had incomes about two-thirds that of white households.

* 44% of businesses in King County do not offer paid sick leave for their full-time employees. Without sick leave, workers are left to make tradeoffs involving the stress of going to work while trying to care for a sick family member or working while sick themselves, or taking time off work by using vacation days while available or risking loss of pay or a job.

* In 2006, 66% of Washington State employers offered health insurance benefits to full-time employees and 11% to part-time workers resulting in 85% of full-time workers covered by employer-sponsored medical and dental insurance, while only 20% of part-time workers had these benefits.

* In a 2007 survey, 6.8% of King County adults reported that household food often or sometimes did not last through the month and they lacked money to buy more. In the same survey, 8.4% of King County adults reported that they could not always afford to eat nutritionally balanced meals. (The East Region rate of 3.3% was lower than the County rate and lower than the 10.8% for Seattle and the 10.4% for the South Region. In the North Regions, 8.9% of adults could not always afford to eat balanced meals.) Those most likely to lack adequate food were people making less than $15,000 per year, young adults, African Americans, Latinos, and those with less than a high school education. King County food banks served 215,941 people in 2007, almost 80,000 of them children.

o Lack of affordable housing is a significant problem in King County, especially for lower income families and individuals. Households that must pay a high percentage of their income for housing have little left over for other basic necessities. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 30% of gross income is the most that all but wealthy households can pay for housing without creating an excessive housing cost burden. In 2007, approximately 45% of renters and 41% of home owners in King County paid 30% or more of their household income for housing.

o 28% of King County residents reported that they had experienced discrimination within the past year, unchanged in the past six years. Those most likely to experience discrimination were younger people, those with less income, and people of color. Acts of discrimination were most often based on age, gender, social class, and race/ethnicity. The South Region and Seattle reported higher percentages of discrimination. Two-thirds of bias crimes were directed toward individuals on the basis of their race or ethnicity. There were 92 reported hate crimes in 2007, down from 100 in 2001, but still higher than 66 reported hate crimes in 2006.

This is just a sampling of the findings from the 2008 Communities Count report, which is really quite an exhaustive look at both the strengths of our community and the challenges that we face together. Congregations and everyone else interested in helping to meet these challenges are urged to dig deeper into the report so that, armed with this knowledge, we will be better able to create real solutions to our shared problems.

Copies of the report can be obtained by calling Public Health of Seattle & King County at 206-263-8767 or by visiting the Communities Count website at http://www.communitiescount.org.

And congregations and groups wishing to schedule an in-person presentation of the report’s findings can contact Megan Horst, Action Agenda Coordinator for the Communities Count Initiative at 206-357-5440 or megan@sustainableseattle.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
EISCC members may share announcements pertaining to their congregations/agencies. If you wish these announcements to appear in the minutes, please make them well in advance of any event that you are publicizing and to help insure accuracy please provide them in writing to the recording secretary. Among the announcements at the February 10, 2009 meeting were:

THE EMERGENCY FEEDING PROGRAM: The Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County is asking congregations to join them in their Winter Baby Food Drive. Your congregation’s donations of jars of baby food (1st and 2nd foods only, please) will help ensure that struggling young families are able to provide vital nutrition to their young children. For more information, please contact Brian Anderson at 206-329-0300 or brian@emergencyfeeding.org or visit them on the web at www.emergencyfeeding.org.

BRIDGE MINISTRIES PRESENTS THEIR ANNUAL ROCK ‘N ROLL DANCE, a fun, friend and fund raising event scheduled for Saturday, March 14, 2009—St. Patrick’s Day! The dance will be held at Newport Covenant Church (12800 SE Coal Creek Pkwy, Bellevue, 98006) from 1:00-4:00pm. Congregations are urged to help by becoming event supervisors, volunteering at the event, or simply attending this afternoon combining lunch, beverages, treats, and live music. There is no charge for admission, but pledges are encouraged and appreciated. For more information, please contact Colleen Dodson at 425-885-1006 x113 or colleend@bridgemin.org.

THE WASHINGTON STATE REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT CONFERENCE will be held March 13th and 14th, 2009 at the University of Washington. This year’s theme is “Changing Times, Changing Strategies” and the conference will examine new strategies that refugees, immigrants, and those who support them can use to bring about positive, social, political, and economic change, There will be many avenues for learning and sharing, including workshops, plenary speakers, social/networking time, and poster sessions. The cost of the conference is $55.00 but a limited number of scholarships are available. For more information or to register please visit their website at http://sites.google.com/site/refugeeimmigrantconference.

BELLEVUE CROP WALK: Congregations are urged to join the 2009 Bellevue CROP Walk which raises money for both local and world-wide hunger relief efforts (25% of the funds raised stay right here on the Eastside benefiting Hopelink and the Emergency Feeding Program. The Walk will take place Sunday, May 3, 2009 (registration begins at 12:30 PM; the WALK begins at 1:00 PM) and will begin & end at Bellevue First Congregational Church located at the corner of NE 8th and 108th NE in Bellevue. This year’s goal is to have 400+ walkers raising $25,000 to help feed hungry families here and abroad. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.mindspring.com/~bellevuecropwalk/.

THE NW CATHOLIC WOMEN’S CONVOCATION IV will take place May 1-2, 2009 at Bellevue’s Meydenbauer Center. The dawning of a new story calls us to radical hope, to create life-giving stories for our personal relationships, social structures, faith communities and planet Earth. The Northwest Catholic Women’s Convocation gathers women for prayer, ritual, education, empowerment, celebration and transformation. Together we will envision new stories for our church and our world! For information about speakers and workshops or to register, please visit their website at http://www.ipjc.org/.

HEARTS AND HAMMERS is an annual two-day blitz to repair and rehabilitate the homes of those physically or financially unable to do so alone. Scheduled for May 2nd and 3rd, 2009 this effort brings together Bellevue’s Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, St. Louise Parish, Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, and Temple B’Nai Torah. The repairs will include carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, painting, plastering, heavy cleaning, and trash removal. There is no charge to the homeowners for labor or materials.

Who can volunteer? Skills are welcomed, but everyone can be put to work. For more information, please contact Sandy Lewis at 425-562-1228.

END SUMMER HUNGER! Hopelink will launch its annual “End Summer Hunger” fund and food drive in April and invites community groups, schools, businesses and our neighbors throughout the area to do their part to ease hunger and homelessness in our community. Considering the rapidly growing number of families in financial distress due to the economy, this campaign is more important than ever in ensuring Hopelink’s ability to feed hungry children. The proceeds from End Summer Hunger will stock Hopelink’s six food banks for the high-demand summer months when subsidized meal programs at schools are not available, and also support Hopelink’s homelessness prevention programs. In 2008, the End Summer Hunger campaign raised more than $119,000 in monetary and food donations.

The grassroots End Summer Hunger campaign begins April 1 and ends July 1, and seeks support from schools, individuals, businesses, and organizations. This program is particularly important because donations to Hopelink historically drop during the summer, leaving the agency’s food banks with lower than normal supplies. Schools that support the program encourage children in classrooms to collect coins, while businesses, organizations and civic or community clubs hold food drives, fund drives, or both, according to what works best for them.

End Summer Hunger

CLOSING PRAYER: The meeting was closed in prayer by Karen Mae Smith of St. Madeline Sophie Catholic Church.

Brian Anderson, EISCC Secretary