Southeast Youth and Family Services 

Southwest Youth and Family Services (SWYFS) works to create a community where youth and families are active, engaged, self-sufficient citizens able to support themselves, their families and the community. They offer counseling, education and family support.

Proven Success
The Education Center has been helping youth who have dropped out of school, been expelled, or have just fallen behind. The program has been very successful but funding has been challenging the past few years. The rate of reimbursement from the school district is dropping and they will not be able to sustain the program without additional funding. They hope that House Bill 1418 will make it possible for nonprofit community-based educational organizations to access state general fund education dollars to operate high school reentry and GED programs.

Accessibility and Cultural Competency
SWYFS has a diverse staff that provides high quality, culturally competent services to a multicultural community. Staff members represent, live in and speak the languages of the communities served, including Latino, Iraqi, Somali and SE Asia.

Mental Health services are provided through the Counseling Center, where 72% of participants are very low-income and 69% are people of color. Youth and families who are not eligible for Medicaid or are uninsured can access services through a sliding scale.

Collaboration
SWYFS has strong partnerships with other community organizations serving SW Seattle. They are partnering with the Highline School District and the White Center Community Development Association on a place-based initiative aimed at developing a “cradle to career” continuum for the White Center neighborhood. They were not selected in the first round of federal funding opportunities but have participated in the technical assistance program and are preparing to submit a request for round two of funding. They did secure private funding to define and plan a continuum of services in the White Center area to make improvements in high school graduation rates and other academic and health outcomes.

SWYFS is the lead organization for the coordination and implementation of youth violence prevention in Southwest Seattle. They partnered with SafeFutures and received funding from the Washington State Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration to jointly provide youth violence prevention services in White Center, and for youth not eligible fore services under the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative.

SWYFS also partners with both the Highline and Seattle School District to provide counseling and support for students and families on site in the schools.

Use of Best Practices
SWYFS’s Family Center supports health and wellness through its parent education, immigrant and refugee family advocacy and youth development work. The Family Center involves community members in planning programs they use and takes services to community members when that is the best way to reach them. The Family Center offers support and advocacy for Cambodian, Latino, Somali, Native American and other families.

Sustainability
SWYFS has responded to the recession by reducing staff hours especially when funding sources were eliminated or reduced. They did experience a deficit ($90,000) in 2010. They plan to apply for Promise Neighborhood funding and will also be researching other federal funding opportunities. They will continue their local grant writing and special event activities.