FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Irene Stewart – irene.stewart@seattle.gov The Legacy of Love African American Caregiver Forum—an annual event during National Family Caregivers Month—is a unique, culturally focused event that draws family caregivers from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2021 African American Caregiver Forum will occur online on Saturday, November 13, from… [ Keep reading ]
Sunday, Sept. 12, is National Grandparents Day—honoring the roles that grandparents play in nurturing and stabilizing families. In 1978, Congress passed legislation that earmarked the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. The day recognizes that, throughout history, grandparents have played significant roles in families. It is a day to recognize, educate, and celebrate the important contributions grandparents have made throughout history. This year marks the third annual local Grandparents Day celebration hosted by the Mayor’s Council on African American Elders and Northwest African American Museum (NAAM). Co-sponsors include AARP Seattle, Age Friendly Seattle, Aging and Disability Services, Seattle Human Services Department (HSD), Nu Black Arts West Theatre, and The Evergreen State College/Tacoma. “Grandparents: Love, Culture & History” will be offered virtually (online) from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and feature a short program and entertainment. Everyone is welcome, free of charge. To receive the event link, register at SurveyMonkey.com/r/GrandparentsDay2021.
Age Friendly Seattle has constantly innovated their events to accommodate guests. Prior to the pandemic, they hosted monthly Civic Coffee Hours at downtown locations, including the Seattle Library’s Central Branch. The events educated people of all ages on current happenings and programs serving different needs and emphasized inclusivity. In early 2020, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they had to orient themselves virtually—something they, and many users, had never done before.
The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Warning for Seattle and surrounding areas due to forecasted high temperatures above 90 degrees. The warming trend will begin Wednesday and continue through Saturday. The City of Seattle is working together with our regional partners to prepare for these extreme temperatures including monitoring critical infrastructure like power systems, water systems, roadways, and bridges. In addition, the City of Seattle is monitoring the potential for moderate to unhealthy air quality levels on Wednesday to Saturday. A press release sent yesterday by the Mayor’s Office highlighted cooling centers and pools available across the city, and outreach teams are on the ground working with our most vulnerable residents to prevent heat illness in these extreme conditions. You can find a map of locations here.
Aging and Disability Services (ADS), a division of the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) that serves as the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle and King County, received two awards from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) at a virtual awards program on July 20—one of them the top Innovation Award winner for 2021. ADS’ Community Living Connections Collaborative Funding Process initially received one of 15 n4a Aging Innovations Awards. The Aging Innovations Award is n4a’s highest award category. During the conference general session that followed, HSD/ADS was announced as the top Innovation Award winner for 2021 and the recipient of a $2,500 prize. Age Friendly Live—live and online events coordinated by the Age Friendly Seattle team at ADS—received one of 21 n4a Aging Achievement Awards announced at the conference.
The draft Area Plan Update for 2022–2023 is available online at agingkingcounty.org/area-plan now through August 2. ADS invites public comment via e-mail and/or a public hearing scheduled at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, August 2, 2021. The public comment period will close at the end of the day, August 2. To sign up for public comment, visit surveymonkey.com/r/August2AreaPlanHearing. To send written comment, e-mail Karen.Winston@seattle.gov.
The City of Seattle recently released a report about the 2020-2021 emergency food response during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and thanking the many partners involved in supporting our residents. Since the beginning, food security has been a top concern as the unprecedented health and economic crisis dramatically… [ Keep reading ]
In response to record-breaking heat over the last week, City of Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) employees were in touch with our unsheltered and aging neighbors, worked to set up and staff cooling centers and shelters, assisted in water distribution and logistics, and prepared to serve residents in need and respond to requests from emergency operations.
Mayor Jenny A. Durkan and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins announced today the launch of a second Health One unit to expand regular service of the program to Ballard and the University District. The second unit begins operating on April 15 and will be staffed with a team of two specially trained firefighter/EMTs and a case manager from the Human Services Department Aging and Disability Services Division. The team will serve people with non-emergency 9-1-1 calls with issues like substance abuse, non-emergency medical issues and a need to access services. Health One continues to focus on providing alternatives to transporting individuals to hospital emergency departments.
The Seattle Human Services Department is pleased to present Age Friendly Seattle’s 2020 Annual Report, highlighting accomplishments from the past year. In addition, please read Age Friendly Seattle program manager Brent Butler’s article in the March issue of AgeWise, the monthly e-zine published by the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging & Disability Services, “Age Friendly Seattle Increases Access and Inclusion Despite COVID.”
