Community News! June 2024
NEWS, STORIES, AND RECENT ARTICLES FROM AND ABOUT COO PARTNERS IN COMMUNITY
Partners Gather for Our First Community of Practice
The Place-Based and Cultural Communities partnerships met in mid-May for their first-ever Community of Practice. It was a day of connection, information, and restoration. Share the day’s events with them and hear how three of our partners reacted to this special day.
NextCycle Accelerator: Building a Circular Economy in Our State
COO was excited to participate in this recent statewide learning and capacity building opportunity hosted by NextCycle WA. The event was for entrepreneurs who are investing their time, energy and resources to build and grow an economy that is regenerative for both people and the land.
Read What We Learned at NextCycle WA Accelerator Academy Communities of Opportunity
WE’RE LAUNCHING A NEW WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT NEWSLETTER!
Want to stay up-to-date on job fairs, trainings and other career and professional development resources? COO is launching a new newsletter to share out job and workforce related resources, events and opportunities! Subscribe at the link below, and reach out if you have an opportunity to share with us: info@coopartnerships.org!
We’re planning to publish the first issue the week of June 10 and will send it every 4-6 weeks.
Collective Prosperity Learning Series Launches
COO Learning Community’s first Collective Prosperity learning series event kicked off with the first event June 6, 6:30-8 p.m. in Renton. We’ll share a video from the event later this month.
This conversation explored the ways that community is implementing healing-centered approaches to build collective power for greater justice and transformation.
Speakers were:
· Jaimée Marsh, MSW (they/them), of FEEST, who specializes in community organizing, organizational capacity building and social identity development.
· Kathei McCoy (she/her/sis), a freedom seeker whose work is deeply rooted in the belief that everybody is deserving of liberation and joy.
· Moderator: Roxana Pardo Garcia, the Certified Xingona, Founder, and Cultural worker of two small businesses, La Roxay Productions and Hood Intellectual Xingona.
Watch for the next event in the series July 11.
White Center CDA Celebrates Groundbreaking for HUB
Congratulations to our partners who have been working since 2017 to make the White Center HUB a reality. They hosted their groundbreaking May 18, at a celebration attended by community members and leaders, elected officials, funders, and other partners.
Partners include White Center CDA, Community Roots Housing, FEEST, HealthPoint, Southwest Youth & Family Services, and YES! Foundation. The multi-use building with affordable housing, health care, community services and more is scheduled to open September 2025. Watch for a blog post coming soon.
Photo, Left-right -- Aaron Garcia, White Center CDA; Chris Persons, Community Roots Housing; Sili Savusa, Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington (formerly White Center CDA); Mason Cavell, Community Roots Housing; Dennis Omondi, Bryan K. Hayes, August Rowe, and Kayla Epting, Southwest Youth & Family Services; and Sherry Williams of HealthPoint.
Affordable Housing Week kicks off with tour of new Beacon Pacific Village
In just a few months, the new Beacon Pacific Village mixed-use building will open. It’ll offer 160 affordable homes, including family-sized apartments; an adult day health center; childcare, and more. As part of Affordable Housing Week several partners hosted a tour of the building, still under construction.
Read our Blog Post & Take the Tour With Us
Affordable Housing Week is hosted by Housing Development Consortium, which hosted the official kickoff May 13 at Seattle City Hall. Visit their page to see recordings of some of the many events around King County last week.
Affordable Housing Week kickoff at Seattle City Hall.
Mockingbird Society Celebrates Policy Wins
Caption: Advocates and legislative champions for The Mockingbird Society gather as Gov. Jay Inslee signs new legislation. Photo from The Mockingbird Society’s Instagram post.
The Mockingbird Society and their partners successfully advocated for policy changes this past legislative session. One major win: SB 5908 -- Extended Foster Care -- will go into effect June 6. It’s The Mockingbird Society’s 70th major legislative win since 2000.
Another Win: Significant Progress for Community Assemblies
Thanks to the advocacy of the Just Futures partners – People’s Economy Lab, Front and Centered, and Statewide Poverty Action Network – the Washington State Legislature’s 2024 Supplemental Budget included $2 million to pilot a statewide network of community assemblies. A community assembly is “a participatory democratic process that brings people together to articulate community needs, assess solutions, and mobilize for action, with a focus on those furthest from economic well-being.”
Read more about this important step forward on the People’s Economy Lab blog.
Congratulations, Partners, on these Grant Wins!
Congratulations to our community partners who have won funding as follows:
From the Washington State Department of Commerce to provide financial coaching and mentorship for Black, Latine, and tribal communities. Find out who’s won this $9.8 million in grants in Washington state and King County.
From the Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy for Senior Centers support. Meet the organizations who will receive this important funding.
Nimble Grants of up to $30,000 each to increase health equity by addressing immediate needs of underserved populations in King County. The grants come from Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (PHPDA). Find out more about the grantees.
As Seen on Converge Media: Community partners share their work
Screen shot of Zenovia Harris (right) with Deaunte Damper
Converge Media, the community media organization that focuses on culturally relevant content in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, interviewed several of our community partners this month.
André Franklin, founder of Brothers United In Leadership Development (BUILD 206), stopped by The Day with Trae with guest host Deaunte Damper May 7. Dré talked about BUILD 206’s vision that Black men are empowered leaders and mentors who make positive change in our community by instilling pride, hope, perseverance in Black men.
Zenovia Harris, who was part of COO’s Commercial Affordability Pilot Project community advisory group, visited The Day with Trae May 8. Zenovia, an author, executive, and advocate for youth empowerment, chatted with Deaunte about her work in the community and the need to “fill yourself up first.”
The May 17 episode of “We Live in Color,” hosted by Deaunte Damper, featured Jaelynn Scott. Jaelynn is Executive Director of the Lavender Rights Project (LRP), a Black trans advocacy group committed to providing safety, resources, and opportunities. (May 17)
House Our Neighbors Visits Social Housing in Vienna
House Our Neighbors recently sent a delegation to Vienna, Austria to learn about their social housing model. The group included community partners and city, county, and state lawmakers. COO was a sponsor of the trip. House Our Neighbors will report on their learning soon.
Above: Social housing in Vienna, during a visit by the House Our Neighbors delegation. Photo from House Our Neighbors on X (formerly Twitter).
Urban League’s Deionte Petty Wins SBA Award
Congratulations to Deionte Petty of The Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, who won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Champion Awards. Petty was recognized for his work developing the Entrepreneurship Community and Cultural Office (ECCO). Read more about this honor in South Seattle Emerald.
SEED Works with Partners to Keep Apartments Affordable
When a partner told SouthEast Effective Development (SEED) that they would no longer own affordable apartments in Washington state, SEED found a solution. They partnered with the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, Enterprise Community Partners, JLL and Rainier Valley Community Development Fund to keep their Lake Washington Apartments affordable.
SEED Executive Director Michael Seiwerath – who also serves on COO’s Governance Group – tells the story of this model for how non-profits can partner to and preserve housing in communities fighting displacement.
Columbia City Night Market Features Black Businesses
Our media partner The Seattle Medium reported on the Columbia City Night Market, which operates on the third Saturday of every month from 6-10 p.m. They say that “Columbia City residents and visitors from afar emerge for an evening of commerce, cuisine and community gathering at 37th Avenue South between South Hudson and South Edmonds streets.”
The Columbia City Night Market is organized year-round by Peace Peloton, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization established in 2020. Read the story in The Seattle Medium
In more news from The Seattle Medium:
The work of Ethiopian Community in Seattle to serve a community that is growing beyond Seattle. The organization opened affordable housing on Rainier Avenue South in fall 2023, and is expanding how they connect culturally across the region.
Five organizations that provide services for creative young people have moved into the historic King Street Station in partnership with Cultural Space Agency, a real estate development company authorized by the City of Seattle.
Long-time Washington state residents could achieve their dreams of homeownership with the help of a new program that the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC) is launching July 1.
LISC’s 2023 Annual Report Highlights Leadership, Vision, and Investments
LISC is sharing their new annual report, highlighting a year of new leadership, new vision and renewed commitment to create affordable housing, catalyze financial opportunity and promote climate resiliency.
Read their highlights, including how they invested $2.4 billion in communities across the country.
Disability Rights Advocate Zivarts Publishes New Book on Transportation Accessibility
Anna Zivarts recently published a new book, When Driving is Not an Option: Steering Away from Car Dependency (Island Press). Anna is Director of Disability Mobility Initiative Program for our partner organization, Disability Rights Washington.
In her book, she shows that it is critical to include people who can’t drive in transportation planning decisions. Listen to a KUOW public radio story about the book and read an excerpt on NextCity.org. Congratulations Anna!
yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective Plans a Cultural Center
Native-led arts organization yəhaw̓ Indigenous Creatives Collective recently purchased a 1,270-square-foot home next to its 1.5-acre plot of land in Rainier Beach. The collective intends to transform the building into a Native arts center, reports the South Seattle Emerald, “bringing together its work of tending to the greenspace and of fostering cultural connection.”
Read the full story in South Seattle Emerald
Spice Bridge Shows Love to Seniors in New Video
Spice Bridge believes that “food is love.” If you haven’t visited them yet, you may be tempted by their new video. In it, they describe their new partnership with the SeaTac senior center. It’s a free multicultural lunch for seniors every Tuesday at the Senior Center (located inside the SeaTac Community Center).
Africatown’s Summer of Soul Features a Season of Community Connections
The Africatown Summer of Soul Series celebrates Black culture, history, and community in Seattle’s Central District. The festivities just kicked off with a Black Wall Street event in late May, and will continue with Juneteenth and much more. Volunteers, vendors, and sponsors can sign up now.
ICHS Hosts Future of Health Equity Panel, Tuesday June 18, 2024, 10 a.m.
Panoramic Center at Pacific Tower, 1200 12th Ave S., Seattle
Join ICHS CEO Kelli Nomura for a compelling community conversation about the future of community health and health equity in King County. The panel will be moderated by Enrique Cerna. Panelists include our COO Governance Group member Matías Valenzuela, Director of Equity and Community Partnerships for King County, as well as ICHS Director of Community Health Services Sherryl Grey.
At right: From the Panoramic Room (the curved area), participants can see the new Beacon Pacific Village building, where ICHS will operate an adult day health program.