United Way of King County Programs
United Way of King County focuses on three areas:
Giving Every Child an Equal Chance to Succeed
United Way is committed to getting children ready for success, starting with school. By supporting kids and families during the early years, as well as improving child care and keeping children safe and healthy, we know we can positively affect the rest of their lives. We do so by:
- Supporting and educating parents through the Parent-Child Home Program
- Intervening early with kids who have developmental delays
- Preventing child abuse and neglect
Ending Homelessness
We work with other community organizations to end homelessness and help people lead healthy, independent lives. Youth homelessness is a growing focus, so we are:
- Committing resources to support more shelter beds, more long-term housing, more counseling and employment services, and more communication and coordination among providers.
- Preventing youth homelessness by identifying kids at risk and supporting them and their families through more support and counseling.
- Developing insights on the issue through better data and data evaluation.
Meeting People's Basic Needs
We are committed to providing food, shelter and access to public benefits for the most vulnerable in our community. We focus on:
- Building the capacity of food distributors and food banks
- Sustaining programs that help people learn about public benefits
- Supporting agencies that help people avoid eviction and foreclosure
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Your support makes great work possible, even in tough economic conditions. Here are a few ways your generosity has helped to build our community:
- 1.3 million food bank visits in 2012 helped people feed their families.
- 14,400 tax returns were filed in 2012—all for free through the Free Tax Preparation Campaign—for low-income individuals and families.
- 4,800 families were connected in 2012 to Basic Food and other benefits.
- 166 units of permanent, supportive housing opened in 2012.
- 750+ families are now involved in the Parent-Child Home Program—an increase from 160 in 2011.