Community Corner highlights the work of Seattle Human Services’ community partners in their own words. Our goal is to gather stories and photos that illustrate their amazing work on behalf of the people of Seattle. This post was provided by Arthur Acuario at Southwest Youth & Family Services (also follow on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn).
What is your organization’s origin story, and what role does it fulfill in your community?
Southwest Youth & Family Services started in 1979 with humble beginnings. Back then, it was just three counselors, operating on a meager budget, out of a small apartment building on 35th Avenue SW in West Seattle.
Over the course of 46 years, we have walked alongside thousands of youth and families in many communities — spanning West Seattle, White Center, Burien, Tukwila, and SeaTac.
What started as a small agency has become a trusted community hub with six core programs and 66 passionate and driven staff members.
Today, we offer counseling, early learning support, youth development, and family advocacy services. We’re committed to meeting families where they are and walking with them toward the futures they imagine.
How do your organization’s programs and services help to reduce the disparities experienced by people of color living in our region?
Historically, about 90% of the people we work with are BIPOC, 95% are low-income, and many speak English as their second language.
These communities are often at a disadvantage because they must navigate systems that were not built with them in mind. To reduce these disparities, each of our programs plays a role in creating more equitable access to opportunities and support.
Here are a handful of program-specific examples:
- Through New Futures, we have classrooms in the very housing communities where the kids are, making it more accessible and ensuring transportation is not a barrier. In these diverse communities, students are taught by teachers who share lived experiences similar to their own.
- Through ParentChild+, we partner with primarily immigrant and refugee parents who have toddlers and preschoolers. Through home visits, we provide books, toys, and early learning support that spark school readiness and create the foundation for a supportive learning environment with new parents.
- Through our Counseling department, we offer services in English, Spanish, and, to a smaller degree, Vietnamese and other languages. Many of our counselors share the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of their clients, which helps build trust and makes it easier for individuals and families to maintain emotional well-being.
- Through our Education Center, we assist students from diverse cultural backgrounds in credit retrieval, GED preparation, or alternative learning paths to reach graduation.
- And through our Family Resource Center (FRC), we assist with translation, transportation, and guidance through complex systems like legal, medical, or housing services. Many who visit our FRC are seniors in the Cambodian community.
Across all our programs, we partner with youth and families in unique ways that bridge cultural and language gaps.
How has your organization grown or developed in recent years?
A huge milestone for us is just around the corner.
SWYFS will join with several other community partners later this year for the long-awaited opening of the White Center HUB, a new residential building, public plaza and community center. The HUB, which stands for Hope, Unity, and Belonging, will serve as an additional location for SWYFS that allows us to replicate our essential services in another local community.
With this building, youth and families in White Center will have access to the same care, connection, and commitment that have guided our work from the beginning, and it will all be right in their backyards.
The HUB will also be a vibrant, shared campus where local nonprofit partners can come together under one roof. It signifies the strength of community and the necessity of partnership to overcome the external factors that make this a particularly challenging time for nonprofits.
What’s something that people in the community might not know about your organization?
At our heart, SWYFS fills the role of a connector, and we have adapted to make accessing services as easy and seamless as possible.
That’s because people rarely face challenges in isolation. A parent might be juggling housing insecurity while also worrying about their child’s education. A teen working through stress may also need a safe, supportive place to spend time after school. That’s why we’ve adapted our service model to be wraparound, which means we have numerous programs to provide layered solutions.
At SWYFS, families don’t have to navigate a maze of different agencies scattered across the city —they can find it all here, under one roof.
What keeps your staff going during challenging times?
Our organization has faced many challenges throughout its history, and the backbone of our belief that we can overcome any challenge is something called being “southwesty.”
“Southwesty” is equal parts grit and determination. It’s the never-give-up-attitude that drives us to keep showing up, even when times are hard. At SWYFS, we know we go farther as a community, and commitment is contagious. When one person shows up with energy and care, it inspires others to do the same.
It is more than just theory.
We have truly walked the walk, because many of our staff—plus, their children—have gone through our programs. That lived experience creates relatability, which translates into services rooted in trust and empathy.