Human Interests Blog Human Services

Human Interests

Seattle Human Services news and events

African American elders council seeks members

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The Seattle Human Services Department and the Mayor’s Office is seeking candidates to serve on the Mayor’s Council for African American Elders. Council members are appointed by Mayor Mike McGinn to serve renewable two-year terms. Members must reside within King County and serve without compensation. The Council advises City officials on policies, programs and services of benefit to older African Americans. Council members are required to live within King County. For more information about the Council please see this Web page. For more information about the application process please contact Rowena Rye, HSD, Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens, at rowena.rye@seattle.gov or 206-684-0494.

Councilmember Rasmussen at Senior Coffee Hour

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The next Senior Coffee Hour sponsored by the the Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens will feature Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. The Coffee Hour will be held this Thursday, Jan. 17th, 10-11 a.m., at the Central Building, 810 3rd Avenue, 1st Floor Conference Room. The Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens is a unit of the Seattle Human Services Department.

 

Design council to discuss barrier-free design, access to health care

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Architects, builders, planners, senior advocates, and members of the disability community are invited to attend the quarterly meeting of the Northwest Universal Design Council (NWUDC) on Thursday, January 10, 2013 (9:30–11:30 a.m. in the Seattle Municipal Tower, Room 1610, 700 5th Ave, in downtown Seattle).The program includes two presentations:

  • Tom Minty will present “The Economics of Design,” going beyond the esthetic and functional benefits of barrier-free design and examining the economic impact of universal design.
  • Daniel S. Gross, senior staff attorney at Northwest Health Law Advocates, will discuss access to affordable health care.

Universal design is a concept that guides creation of a built environment (homes, offices, transportation systems, etc.) that is inherently accessible for people of all ages and abilities.

For details see this press release.

Free tax prep for qualified households

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United Way of King County has announced its annual Free Tax Preparation service. From now through early April, any household making $51,000 or less can have its taxes prepared for free.

Hundreds of IRS-trained and certified United Way volunteers help people file their tax returns. The service is easy, gets clients’ refunds quickly, and is absolutely free. Along with tax preparation, volunteers help clients with additional services such as savings bonds purchasing, assistance applying for public benefits, and pulling credit reports. A new feature this year—you can text TAX and a five-digit ZIP code (for example, “TAX 98104”) to 313131 to learn which site is nearest to you.  This Web link provides additional information about this service.

Sept. 20 Senior Coffee Hour focuses on crime prevention

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Join guest speaker Terrie Johnston, Crime Prevention Coordinator for the Seattle Police Department, on strategies to prevent crime, at the Senior Coffee Hour, at 10 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, at the Central Building, 810 3rd Ave., Seattle, WA 98104, 1st floor conference room. The Coffee Hour is sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Senior Citizens a unit of the Seattle Human Services Department.

Caregiving discussed at forum

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Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata, the Human Services Department and the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services invited downtown Seattle employees and other members of the public to a special forum on caregiver stress and support services on July 31. Five council members, four family and/or kinship caregivers, HSD director Dannette R. Smith, and Aging and Disability Services director Jesse Eller participated in the forum, which was broadcast live by the Seattle Channel.

Learn how to avoid scams targeting seniors at July 19th Coffee Hour

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Don’t miss this month’s Senior Coffee Hour and learn how to avoid scams targeting seniors and identity theft. Jean Mathisen, the Project Director of the AARP Washington Fraud Fighter Call Center, will be the guest presenter.

Ms. Mathisen has been working in social services for more than 30 years. She came to AARP from Senior Services of Seattle/King County, where she managed Senior Rights Assistance. Jean often speaks on fraud prevention to community groups in an effort to reduce incidents of financial exploitation. She has devoted her career to non-profit management and has a Masters Degree from the Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington.

Date: Thursday, July 19
Time: 10 – 11 a.m.
Location: Central Building, 810 3rd Avenue (between Columbia and Marion Streets), 1st Floor

‘Farm to Table’ program continues!

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The City of Seattle’s Farm to Table Project will continue to link senior meal sites and child care programs to local area farms.  The goal of these efforts is to get local, organic produce into some of Seattle’s most under-served communities.  With continued funding from the City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) and community partnerships,  the program, launched through a Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant,  will be continued.  For more information please contact Maria Langlais at maria.langlais@seattle.gov or Natalie Thomson at Natalie.thomson@seattle.gov.

Seniors Coffee Hour this Thursday

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Don’t miss this month’s Seniors Coffee Hour on Thursday, June 21 at the first floor of the Central Building, 810 3rd Avenue (between Columbia and Marion Streets) from 10-11 a.m. Jennifer Wieland, Project Manager from Elliott Bay Seawall Project, and Nathan Torgelson, Policy and Development Manager from Seattle Parks Department, will be speaking about the Seawall Project on Seattle’s Waterfront. No RSVP needed; just come on down!