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Wellspring Family Services 

Description

Wellspring Family Services offers practical resources and therapeutic support to help families build resilience to overcome life’s challenges. Founded in 1892 as a relief organization for Seattle’s poor, the agency has evolved to address the ever-changing needs of our community. Every day we help homeless families secure housing, teach abusive partners non-violent behaviors, provide counseling, and work with parents and children to nurture the social and emotional development of at-risk kids.

Mission Statement
Our mission is to build emotionally healthy, self-sufficient families and a non-violent community in which they can thrive.
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Wellspring Family Services
1900 Rainier Ave S 
Seattle 
WA
98144 
(206) 826-3050 

Ruthann Howell 
President/CEO 

Programs

Wellspring Family Services Programs

Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Services
Wellspring offers emergency shelter, housing placement services, crisis intervention, case management and advocacy, specialized childcare for homeless children, tangible items for homeless infants and young children, and ongoing support to prevent eviction and promote self-sufficiency.

Early Learning Services
The Wellspring Early Learning Center provides comprehensive services to homeless children ages 1-5 to mitigate the effects of trauma and chronic stress by promoting social and emotional development skills.  Learning activities help children increase self-help skills, improve communication with adults and other children, and feel safe and secure. In-classroom, reflective practice therapy is provided for children with severe emotional and behavioral difficulties. Our Early Learning services also include transportation, on-site physical and behavioral health care, parent education and nutritious meals and snacks.

Community Violence Prevention Services
State-certified domestic violence batterer's treatment and specialized parenting education for families with domestic violence issues

Mental Health Services
Individual and family counseling, employee assistance, multi-cultural counseling, child guidance, grief counseling, infant mental health (parent/child bonding) and postpartum depression counseling and support.

Recent Successes and Current Challenges

In 2009, we completed a $19M capital campaign to build a new support center, where we have been able to expand our services to young children and co-locate our services for vulnerable families. In 2008, we were chosen by the Children's Psychological Health Center to the be the NW representative for the Cornerstone Program of Reflective Network Therapy. Throughout the last decade, our DV program has developed a "DV Dads" program to help men understand the impact of their violence on children.

Wellspring's aim is to prevent families from falling into homelessness. Eviction prevention is a critical piece that helps alleviate a family's short-term housing crisis while helping to resolve the long-term issues affecting their housing stability. To this end, we provide financial assistance to a family, paired with longer-term case management to help them create a stabilization plan. During the recession, we are receiving five times the number of calls, which has overwhelmed the system.

Evaluation


Wellspring Family Services (formerly Family Services of King County) offers resources and therapeutic support to help families become more resilient and self-sufficient. The strategies employed by Wellspring Family Services, including early education and permanent supportive housing, are considered among the most effective in the field. The agency’s core philosophy of integrating a therapeutic approach with basic needs services enables them to focus on the hardest to serve clients and help them attain housing and family stability.

Proven Success
Wellspring Family Services earns operating income by hosting an Employee Assistance Program for major employers and insurance companies in the region. Licensed mental health therapists staff the phone lines, providing crisis intervention, information, and counseling referrals to contracted providers, including Wellspring’s own counseling centers.

Best practices
Wellspring Family Services is unique in the therapeutic approach it takes to working with children and families. Staff are highly educated and trained, many holding master’s degrees and professional licenses in their fields. This enables the organization to provide not only breadth of services but also depth.

Collaboration
Wellspring has numerous formal and informal service provider relationships in the community to provide housing, domestic violence counseling, chemical dependency services, and childcare.

Grant History with The Seattle Foundation:

Grants Awarded through The Seattle Foundation Grantmaking Program:

DateAmountPurpose
3/10/2012 $15,000.00support general operating expenses.
6/10/2010 $20,000.00support general operating expenses.
9/10/2009 $1,000.00support program related costs such as baby formula, car seats and hotel vouchers. (Youth Philanthropy Grant)
10/18/2007 $50,000.00support the Lasting Solutions for Homeless Families Capital Campaign.
12/18/2003 $65,000.00support general operating expenses for Family Stabilization Services.

Financials

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