First Place Graduate makes National Headlines

Breaking News!

First Place graduate, 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, has been advocating for health care in honor of his mother since he lost her in 2007. In the past year, Senator Patty Murray has been telling his story to advocate for better healthcare and has shared his story twice in front of President Obama.
His story is now being heard and seen by thousands of individuals through news coverage on MSNBC and CBS Evening News.

Today, March 10, is an important day for Marcelas as he speaks in Washington DC in front of Congress - it is also his eleventh birthday.

Read local stories on Marcelas: KING5, Q13 Fox, Seattle Times.

Hear Marcelas' story in person!

Marcelas will be speaking at our Annual Fundraising Breakfast on Wednesday, April 28, 2010.

RSVP today to hear this inspirational young man share more of his experiences and how First Place was a catalyst for his advocacy.

Learn more about the Annual Fundraising Breakfast.Marcelas Owens (left) with Tod Leiweke (right) at the 2009 Breakfast.

"Kids Not Cuts": First Place Students Advocate in Olympia

“Kids Not Cuts!” was the Have a Heart for Kids Day theme this year. More than 4,000 people from throughout the state gathered in Olympia on Monday, February 15th to rally for the issues that are most important to Washington’s kids.

Have a Heart for Kids Day is a yearly lobbying day organized by The Children’s Alliance to bring attention to the issues affecting children who often are not able to advocate for themselves.House Bills important to our students and parents right now include:
House Bill 3177 Housing Trust Fund & House Bill 1956 authorizing the housing of homeless people on property owned or controlled by a church.

Early Monday morning students, parents, teachers and volunteers loaded buses at First Place to head to Olympia for the annual Have a Heart for Kids Day rally.
In anticipation of the day, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes researched bills the House and Senate are considering right now and wrote letters to their legislators telling how they felt about those bills and whether they should pass. Here are a few excerpts from letters written by First Place students:

Dear Representative Pettigrew,

I am writing in regards to HB 3177.

My family and I live in a shelter. If my parents didn’t find shelter we would be homeless. My family now has hope for a better future. I think it is really important to pass this bill because in the future families like mine will need a safe place to live.

Dear Representative Chopp,

I ask for your support for HB 1956, authorizing the housing of homeless people on property owned or controlled by a church.

Recently in my school’s neighborhood, a church hosted tent city. They never messed with anybody and they looked happy and peaceful. I think it’s better that they stay there than under the free way. Please consider this bill.

Dear Representative Orwall,

I am writing in regard to House Bill 2621. I want to pick this bill because it will keep our children current with technology by providing opportunities for specialized learning.

I think this is a good plan because I go to a school that has small classes and personal instruction. We do lots of learning projects like this letter to you. Our school gets lots of support from local businesses and community volunteers. I have gone to my school for 2 years and it has been a good experience and I have learned a lot.

Please vote for this bill so it can help other kids learn more about science, technology, engineering, and math.

Student letters also talked about funds for school nurses, support for animal protection laws, and, of course, more time for recess.
During the day Representative Eric Pettigrew and Speaker of the House Frank Chopp took time to meet with First Place students and their parents, and listen to their letters and stories.

Other exciting parts of the day included marching through the capitol campus up to the steps of the Legislative Building, joining a rally of 4,000 people calling for steps toward a healthy economic future for Washington kids. First Place students made and carried signs with slogans like “Kids Not Cuts!” and “Hunger doesn’t take a summer vacation” to support programs that are vital to the health and success of kids.

Most importantly, First Place families saw that their stories and presence do make a difference in how legislators think about and respond to issues and they know that their voice is an important one.

Vote Yes On Prop. 1!

by Dr. Doreen Cato, Executive Director

On November 3rd, if Seattle voters do not vote to approve Housing Levy, Proposition 1, First Place will lose important funding to two of our most essential programs; the Rental Assistance Program and the Housing Program.


Please vote yes to renew this important proposition when you vote between now and November 3rd. You will find Proposition 1 on the back of your ballot in the upper right hand corner. Vote YES to approve the Levy, which for the past 28 years has been assisting some of Washington’s most vulnerable citizens from losing their housing in difficult times. Last year, for example the First Place Rental Assistance Program directly served one hundred and forty five individuals helping these people with immediate funding to help them retain or obtain housing.

Also, by providing networking and contact information to other community resources, the First Place Rental Assistance Program served approximately 3,362 individuals last year.

First Place is one among many local organizations providing Rental Assistance funding to families in order to prevent them from becoming homeless. This funding helps by:

• preventing families from losing their homes and becoming homeless;
• preventing homelessness while a family deals with job loss, medical bills or a death in the family;
• moving families into market-rate housing through providing deposits for apartments;
• providing support services to stabilize families for the long-term; and
• leveraging Non-Profit developers, enabling them to build affordable housing for families.

Rental Assistance is just one of the 5 successful programs funded through the Housing Levy, yet affects over 3,000 families.

Where will these families go when they lose their homes? Our state’s unemployment rate just went up to 9.3% -- now more than ever families need help to keep their homes and children need a safe and warm place to come home to.

First Place endorses passing Proposition 1.

*This letter is part of bi-yearly newsletter.

New to First Place - How to Get Involved

We are meeting new people every day who are interested in learning more about First Place. We are the only agency in the State of Washington providing high quality education to children whose families are homeless in addition to providing wrap-around support services to parents.

For everyone just learning about our mission, we invite you to get involved. Our current opportunities include:

Tours. We offer tours almost every Friday at 11am for individuals, families and groups. This is the perfect time to learn about volunteer opportunities. Each tour group gets to hear firsthand a story from a parent who has been a part of our program. To sign-up email tours@firstplaceschool.org.

Back to School Donation Drive. Students start their year at First Place up to 3 grade levels behind their peers. They need the right supplies in their backpacks, in the classroom and at home. We are actively seeking classroom donations. Learn more.

Join our Email List. We send short monthly email update as well as success stories.

Connect with us online through Facebook and Twitter.

What is the newest issue emerging in homelessness policy?

Recently the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had a Q & A session with the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Below is her answer from the first of five questions where she specifically talks about homeless families with children. It's exciting to see that families with children are at the top of the list of emerging issues.

What is the newest issue emerging in homelessness policy?
The issue of homelessness among children has become particularly visible as the recent collapse of the housing industry coupled with the current recession has swelled the number of families with children seeking homelessness assistance. I believe that it is possible to increase our efforts to help the growing population of homeless children and families, while also maintaining our efforts to address chronic homelessness. There are sizable opportunities for real collaboration using funding that has been made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as well as with the recent passage of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. In addition, the President’s budget for fiscal year 2010 includes over $400 million in HHS programs targeted to individuals, youth, and families experiencing homelessness, and a total of $338 billion for fourteen non-targeted, or mainstream, HHS programs that can serve persons experiencing homelessness. It will be critical to coordinate these resources flowing into communities to ensure that we are reaching the broadest populations possible, including in our efforts to prevent homelessness. HHS programs provide critical supportive services to homeless individuals, families, and children, and these services help these populations achieve or maintain economic and housing stability. By partnering HHS resources with resources available through other Federal agencies we can ensure a broader reach.

Read the full article here.

Unsung Hero: Kirkland Junior Youth Group

A huge Thank You to Kirkland Junior Youth Group who came down to First Place with a donation of $330 and for a tour of the building! We appreciate their support of our programs and for their future support as summer volunteers.

Some of the youth are pictured here with Chris Cooper, Director of Marketing and Development at First Place.

We were reminded of this quote:

"A person's true wealth is the good he or she does in the world."

--Mohammed

Learn more about Tours and Volunteering on our website.

Local Artist Uses First Place Students' Hands in 'Shelter Blanket' Project

Local artist Jan Gallagher used outlines of the hands of the homeless to create Shelter Blanket.


Some of the hands used were taken from the students at First Place. Here is a detailed view of a hand.
Here is Jan's Artist Statement about the peice:

Creating art is opening a suitcase that I have been dragging around all my life. It is a process of unpacking and letting go, of adding color to darkness, of softening hard edges.

Shelter Blanket is a fiber portrait. I see the homeless everyday. They are wrapped in blankets, searching for compassion. I see emptiness where hope once lived. I see someone searching for a place, not just a place to sleep, but a home.

Each year the Seattle / King County Coalition on Homelessness and Operations Nightwatch counts the unsheltered homeless. On the night of January 30, 2009 they counted 1,977 homeless in the City of Seattle. You may walk past them everyday and never see them.

In creating Shelter Blanket, homeless men, women and children have extended their hands. They have touched my life. Stand before my work, touch the quilt. Touch each hand. It holds a piece of their soul and may it touch you.

$1977

ALL PROCEEDS DONATED
TO BENEFIT THE HOMELESS

This is extraordinary work! Thank you, Jan!

Jan's work will be on display at the Public showing of the Fibermorgana UW Fiber Arts Certificate Program on these dates:
Thursday, June 4, 2009 from 5:30-8:30pm
Tuesday, June 9 and 23, 2009 at 5pm

University of Washington Tower 4th floor (old Safeco Tower)
4333 Brooklyn Ave NE Seattle, WA 98195


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In the News: Recent Articles of Interest

There have been a quite a few articles lately that we want to share.

From USA Today: School caters to homeless children.
Mustard Seed School in Sacramento caters to children ages 3 to 15 - providing educational services for about a month before a child transfers into public school. First Place started as a similar stop-gap program but over 20 years has grown to enrolling an entire family for up to three years. We are always happy to see similar programs!

From the Washington Post: Poor? Pay up.
This article explains the high costs of poverty and why you have to be rich to be poor. If you keep up with us on Twitter we posted this link a few days ago.

From Seattle Weekly blog: Affordable Housing Going Up in Central District--If It Can Get Its Parking Approved.
Anytime housing for families with children, homeless and low-income households is available it's a great thing. In his post Seattle Weekly blogger Damon Agnos questions why parking is needed at a housing facility for homeless and low-income families. First Place invites anyone with this question to come down for a tour to see why a homeless family would have a car but no home. We host tours every Friday at 11am. Sign up online.

Besides that, 51 units of housing for families is excellent news!

Inside the walls of First Place

This week we want to share with you the classroom and program updates from our monthly parent newsletter.

Classroom Highlights! Students were asked to tell us "What is the highlight of your class?"

Update from Ms. Molly and Ms. Jenni in Kindergarten:
Kindergarten has celebrated twice this week, once by making green eggs for Dr. Seuss’ birthday and today for the 100th Day of School! We made necklaces with 100 rings on them, and counted many other objects to 100. We are continuing to work hard as we master sight words and improve our reading skills. We also are adding, subtracting, and measuring with rulers. Most of all, we enjoy playing, learning, and helping each other grow.

Ms. Kristy's 1st/2nd Grade Class:
“We learned about the season of the year and about how some people like winter better than other seasons. I like to learn about winter because that is the season that I can ice skate.”

“I learned about art like self portrait, making bugs, we also went for a nature walk looking for bugs.”

“I learned doing work and playing.”

“I learned to behave and to make cakes with play do.”

Ms. Nicole's 2nd/3rd Grade Class:
“I learned geometry and making a book. We were making shapes for geometry and learned words from geometry.”

“Currently we are learning about shapes and big words.”

“We learned shapes, words, we went on field trips, we went to pump it up gym, and I learned that we jump a lot.”

“We learned about oceans. There are different kinds of animals in the water. And different kinds of things that they do. We learned, in the ocean that the momma fish lay their eggs and then leaves them. They don’t stick around to care for them. It is called survival.”

Ms. Di's 4th/5th Grade Class:
“I learned fractions and I got finished with my work first before any one in my class yesterday and today. We went to Olympia trip with the 5th & 6th graders.”

“I learned fractions & time tables up to the 13’s. We had a field study to the African American Museum.”

“I went to the African American museum .”

“We learned about fractions, we did times table to 13’s.

“I went to the African American Museum with my class.”

“I’m learning about ways to write division in math.”

Ms. Tappin's 5th/6th Grade Class
“We are learning about National Women’s Month , aviation, and WWII. It’s fun. I got my sealant. I’m famous when we went to Olympia.”

“Me, and [my classmates] were on the front page of the Olympian Newspaper. We got to interview Dr. Cato for the National Women’s Month.”

Have A Heart For Kids Day Update

On Febrary 27, 2009 First Place 4th-6th graders (along with parents, staff and volunteers) traveled to Olympia to lobby for children’s rights. We attended Have a Heart For Kids Day, which is an annual lobby day sponsored by the Children’s Alliance.

Highlights of the day were:

• Attended a rally with Governor Christine Gregoire
• Met with state legislators
• Participated in activities with Tulalip Elementary School 5th graders
• Participated in a scavenger hunt at the Capitol Building
• Took a tour of the Capitol and Legislative Buildings
• Shared personal stories of success and challenge with our legislators
• Advocated for our school programs such as Building Bridges

In preparation for this trip, Ms. Di and Ms. Tappin have worked incredibly hard to teach their students about civics and advocacy. For example, in Ms. Di’s class, students followed the Obama campaign and aligned the K-Kids election with the presidential election. They explored the election process, and focused on ballot voting. Ms. Tappin and Ms. Di each brought in daily newspapers and discussed current events with their students, to develop an awareness of local and national issues.

Students learned key vocabulary words, and were asked questions like “What is the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship?" and "What are ethics?" Students also worked in their classrooms and in their info-skills class to learn what a bill is, and how it becomes a law and researched their state representatives, and learned about the role of government at the state level.

They also wrote letters to their legislators, lobbying for bills that were of particular interest to them. Some of their letters addressed important issues such as homelessness, foster care, health care, college funding, transportation, and more.

Thanks so much to Ms. Melanie, Mr. Art, Ms. Liz, Ms. Di and Ms. Tappin for organizing this vent and preparing our students for this experience!

View pictures of First Place students in Olympia
Read a prior post about Have A Heart for Kids Day.

Two new reports on homeless children and families

In our last post, Are there more homeless students in our schools?, we talked about homeless families being invisible to the rest of the population because they stay for long periods of time in non-traditional housing, or they share housing with another family.

Yesterday another article was featured in the NY Times, giving a closer look at how families with children are coping with unstable homes and living in motels month to month. Read that article here: As Jobs Vanish, Motel Rooms Become Home.

"Motels are a part of the transition process for over 15% of First Place families, some of which live there for a majority of a school-year. In that kind of environment most of these families become exposed to street violence, drug use and other ills that develop the social and emotional traumas that prevents academic excellence or family stability," said Gene Harris, Director of Family Support Services at First Place.

Yesterday we also learned that nationally 1 in 50 children experience homelessness in America each year. The report by the National Center on Family Homelessness also ranks all 50 states. And where did Washington fall? At number 25 - right in the middle. Here is an overview on the Washington State report card:

• 9,575 children in grades Kindergarten through 8 are homeless.
• 1 in 26 children do not know where they will get their next meal.
• Less than 25% of homeless children will graduate from High School.
• 56.5% of homeless families with children struggle with transportation to and from school.

The report also says there is no dedicated state funding (in Washington) for homeless education.

Download full report here: http://www.homelesschildrenamerica.org/

Check out just Washington State here: http://www.firstplaceschool.org/WA_report.pdf

Unsung Hero: Children's Alliance

Heroes are often thought of as having super-human powers. At First Place our heroes have super-human hearts. Some of them we have never met and some of them walk through our front doors every day. We want to share with you who our heroes are and the impact they have in the lives our children and families.

Our hero today is the Children’s Alliance. In addition to their work ensuring that laws, policies and programs work for kids, the Children’s Alliance is also the organizing force behind Have A Heart For Kids Day. Friday, February 27th, the annual Have A Heart For Kids Day will bring First Place students, parents and staff in partnership with over 500 child advocates from across Washington State to develop advocacy skills, learn about current laws supporting children and showcase their knowledge in meetings with legislators.

First Place has been a member organization of Children’s Alliance since 1989.

At the 2008 Have A Heart For Kids Day First Place teamed up with students from Tulalip Elementary school for a full day of advocacy and a tour of the Capital. Here are some photos from last year.

Above: Students had an opportunity to meet Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen and ask questions. Below: After lunch, Senator Claudia Kauffman addressed First Place and Tulalip Elementary students answering questions and explaining the importance of getting involved in advocacy and how it can make a difference to the community.
Below: From left to right Dr. Doreen Cato, Executive Director of First Place, Representative Eric Pettigrew and former First Place Board President Dawn Mason.

Check back next week for a full report on this year's Have A Heart For Kids Day. Thank you Children’s Alliance.