Family Works

Wallyhood, along with other local blogs, got an e-mail a few weeks back from a resident concerned about a homeless couple with child asking for hand-outs in front of the QFC. “What can we do to help”, the writer asked? As parents to 14-week-old Baby Z, we’ve sometimes tried to imagine what it would feel like to hear your baby cry for hunger and simply not have the food to offer him, much less the food to sustain yourself while you try to care for him, but the heartbreak is unimaginable.

This past week, we paid a visit to Family Works on 45th Street to talk to some people with some answers, and frankly, we were blown away at the breadth of programs being offered in their small offices scrunched next to the library.

As we entered, there was a line stretching down the hall and out the door leading to the food bank.We learned that their food bank serves 4,000 people each year for 48,000 visits. Not suprisingly, that’s up from last year, but it is surprising how much: 80% more people than they served a year ago (in 65% more households), with a total of 40% more visits. They even make 120 deliveries to homebound people twice a month.

There were all the types of people you’d expect, and then some: parents with young children, older people with those rickety tall metal carts you used to see years ago, college-age people looking to stretch a small income, the obviously homeless and more, and all of them walking out with bags of groceries. There was even a special closet of food (and diapers) for babies and special bags of “no cook” food for the homeless (that’s the Director, Jake, with Baby Z in front of the baby closet).

Dazzled by our hyper-micro-celebrity status as neighborhood bloggers, we were given a guided tour by several of the staff, who passed us amiably along before returning to the work at hand, which was sizable.

Shirley, the Resource Center Manager, Jake, the Director and Lauren, the tutoring coordinator, laden our arms with material describing the different programs offered. To name a few:

• 

  Teen / Young Parent Group (Sat 4 – 6pm): Parent / child activities, cooking class, field trips, advice, friendship, support for teen and young parents.

• Single Parent Classes: 6 week parenting class for single parents (free, includes child care during the class)
• Playgroups galore: Spanish playgroup, Japanese playgroup, chinese adoptee playgroup, all family playgroup, blogger playgroup! (OK, no playgroup for bloggers 🙁 ) Drop-in and let your kind frolic with their toys and other kids.
• Baby Play Playgroups (Wed 1 – 2pm): A pediatric occupational therapist volunteers to teach new parents activities and exercises to encourage healthy growth in babies.
• Life Coaching (Tue 2 – 3 pm): Free 30 minutes sessions help those in transition (or who would like to be in transition) make a plan on how to improve their life.
• Infant CPR (class full, call 206 694 6727 for next class)
• Tutoring (M, W 4 – 5:30 pm, Oct – May): Free 1:1 tutoring that matches adult volunteers with elementary school children, grades 1 -5.

The list goes on, but we’re running out of bullets for bullet points. What impressed us was the cheerful, unhurried and yet productive attitude everyone had. People drifted in and out with questions and needs, and everyone was served quickly, kindly and respectfully. There were computers for those without access, books for those who wanted to read and a quiet place to sit for those who just needed a quiet place to sit.

It’s beautiful to see people getting the help they need, but it leaves unanswered the question we started with: what can we do to help?

We asked Jake, and she had some good suggestions, ranging from the small to the grand, to fit your appetite:

• Go to Bartell Drugs and buy a few books of bus passes and drop them off at Family Works. They will distribute them to people who will use them to get to jobs and child care. Talk about a simple way to help someone help themselves. Family Works gets a certain number from the city, but quickly run out.
• Donate food or money. Family Works gets about half its budget from the city, and the rest comes from donations. Your donations, maybe? Better yet, organize a food drive for your neighborhood. Call Family Works for details about what they need.
• Volunteer your time. For example, the farmers at the Wallingford Farmer’s Market will donate leftover produce at the end of market day. Family Works needs help collecting and distributing it.
• Donate diapers. If you’re a parent, imagine for a moment running out of diapers and simply not having the money in your wallet to buy new ones. Not “don’t have the money in the budget”, but “don’t have the money in the wallet”. Now go buy some extra diapers and drop them off. Family Works will give them to parents who need them.

We’re sorry if we’re getting all preachy on you. We try to be snarky and cynical, but in the face of such awesomeness, there just isn’t room for it.

Family Works is located at 1501 N. 45th Street in Wallingford. Call them at 206 694-6727 or visit their web site for more info.