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Director's Note—December 2024
At the end of last month, Mayor Bruce Harrell signed the 2025-2026 Budget into law. Despite a challenging budget environment, I am grateful to the Mayor and City Council for prioritizing HSD's critical community supports including initiatives addressing homelessness, youth mental health, public safety, and public health. As we close out 2024 and look ahead to the coming year, I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our incredible HSD team and community partners for their hard work and dedication. Together we make HSD's mission possible.
Wishing you all a season filled with peace, love and joy.
In community,
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Did You Sustain Damages in the Recent Storms?
Services are available after November's big storms.
- Remove debris, report downed trees, find more resources and safety info: http://KCemergency.com
- Get tax relief for damaged property: http://bit.ly/3VatdKW
- Request FEMA disaster assistance
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 Seattle’s Food Action Plan Paves the Way for Stronger Community Food Security
The City of Seattle recently released its updated Food Action Plan, a vision and roadmap for an equitable, sustainable, and resilient local food system. Supported by Mayor Harrell and adopted unanimously by City Council resolution 32144, the plan reflects community priorities around food access, nutrition, climate stewardship, land access, and more. Read more about how HSD’s programs and partners figure prominently in several of the plan’s priorities, most notably Community Food Security.
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Community Corner: OSL Serves
OSL Serves provides no-cost, nutrient-dense, culturally relevant meals, to shelters, tiny house villages, Open Meal Service sites, homeless veterans, asylum seeker meals, elder meals, and others needing nutritional support. Visit humaninterests.seattle.gov to learn more about how they have grown from a partnership with HSD to deliver 30 lunches in 1998 into the largest meal provider in the State of Washington today.
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Employee Spotlight: Yvonne Seyler
Yvonne Seyler is a Sr. Human Services Supervisor in Aging & Disability Services (ADS), which plans and advocates for a comprehensive service delivery system for older people, adults with disabilities, and family caregivers in Seattle and throughout King County. She works in our South King County Office in Renton managing nine case managers in the Care Coordination Program. Visit humaninterests.seattle.gov to learn more about Yvonne and the impact she and her team make in our community.
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 Employee Spotlight: Daniel McCoy
As a Case Manager in Aging & Disability Services (ADS), Daniel supports Care Coordination Program clients with staying in their homes as they age. ADS Care Coordinators complete client assessments, create service plans with caregivers, and support them in searching for and understanding local resources. Visit humaninterests.seattle.gov to learn more about Daniel and his impact on our community.
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REMINDER: SYEP Learn and Earn Applications Close 12/20
Applications are still open for the Seattle Youth Employment Program’s Learn and Earn Career Pathways tracks. Career Pathways offers youth participants opportunities to receive technical training in IT software development, nursing, or individualized certificate tracks catered to the young person’s choice of study while earning a stipend.
Applications close December 20 and the program is expected to commence the 2nd week of January 2025 and run through March. Interested applicants can learn more at Seattle.gov/SYEP.
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Preparing for an Emergency Food Response Before Disaster Strikes
Natural disasters are something that many of us would prefer to never think about, but for HSD’s Emergency Management strategist, Jill Watson, preparing for them is part of her daily job.
Working with HSD Food and Nutrition strategist, Seán Walsh, and the City of Seattle’s Emergency Operations Center Training & Exercise Coordinator, Jordan Bright, HSD recently brought together 40 food system and emergency management experts to connect, find ways to improve, and practice responding to a real-life crisis scenario when the unthinkable happens.
Read more about the challenges facing government agencies and our community partners in maintaining access to food in the days after a disaster. (Think about the widespread power outages after the recent storm!) The more we practice, the better prepared we will be to support our community when the need arises.
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Help to Shape the 2025 Local Food Initiative
The Local Food Initiative is King County’s policy roadmap to grow the local food economy and make locally grown food accessible to all. The original Local Food Initiative was published in 2015, and it is being updated for the first time right now! King County and King Conservation District are partnering to update the Local Food Initiative policy and programs.
Community engagement for the 2025 Local Food Initiative will be taking place from September 2024 to February 2025. Take this short survey by January 1st, register to participate in a focus group, or send a comment directly to have your voice heard!
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Legacy of Love 2024 Focuses on Dementia Caregiving
Dozens of caregivers and professionals celebrated the start of National Family Caregivers Month at the “Legacy of Love” African American Caregivers Forum on Nov. 2 at the Northwest African American Museum in Seattle. This culturally focused event is hosted each year by HSD’s Aging and Disability Services (ADS) Division, the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle and King County, along with its City and community partners.
The Legacy of Love forum is an opportunity for caregivers to connect with their peers and hear from experts. This year’s event was focused on providing care for people experiencing dementia. Nearly 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and more than 11 million provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
Learn more statistics about dementia care shared by Keynote Speaker Beverly Kimmons, and how Community Living Connections can help you if you are an unpaid caregiver, from Aging King County news.
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