by Vee Hua 華婷婷
Citing "a strategic realignment to ensure long-term financial stability and enhance the effectiveness of our services," the youth-serving homelessness organization YouthCare has announced the closures of a number of its shelters and significant reductions in staff. The announcements were made in an email and FAQ document sent to its employees.
YouthCare's Catalyst Transitional Living Program, a 12-bed residential home that opened in 1989, and its Home of Hope — Bridge Program, with 10 two-bedroom transitional apartments, will close on Aug. 31. On Jan. 1, 2025, the University District Youth Center and the over-18 South Seattle Youth Center will also close. Transition planning for all youth served by the programs will begin effective immediately.
Amid the closures, YouthCare's program staff will be reduced by 24%, and its administrative staff will be reduced by 31%. YouthCare says it will offer job placement assistance and career planning services for affected staff members during its transition.
PubliCola reported that YouthCare did not immediately respond to its questions regarding the changes or potential impacts they may have on the homelessness crisis. The organization says it remains committed to its mission to "end youth homelessness and to ensure that young people are valued for who they are and empowered to achieve their potential."
YouthCare will also continue to move forward in a partnership with Community Roots Housing's upcoming mixed-use building in Capitol Hill, wherein YouthCare will open its South Annex, an "education and employment resource hub."
Amid a nationwide debate regarding government regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in air, water, and soil, the Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport is now the first U.S. airport to use new technology that will clean the chemicals from its on-site firefighting foams. Sea-Tac International Airport's decision comes after Washington State's requirement that all of the state's 11 commercial airports must remove PFAs from use by Sept. 30, 2025.
PFAs have been nicknamed "forever chemicals" because of their toxicity, ability to contaminate clean water, and difficulty to remove from environmental systems. Their proliferation has come from widespread use of the Teflon-like, water-resistant material in commercial objects, such as nonstick pots and pans, as well as from products such as firefighting foams. As far back as 1989, manufacturing companies, such as 3M and DuPont, have undertaken internal studies and found that PFAs are "completely resistant to biodegradation."
The Seattle Times reported that PFA-laden firefighting foams have been phased out in five commercial international airports across the U.S., but that Sea-Tac International Airport is the first to use cleaning technology. Through a contract with Washington-based company TRS Group, Sea-Tac is employing a PerfluorAd technology that removes PFA materials from firefighting vehicles used at the airport. Beginning with a water rinse, the technology then transfers the materials off-site and uses a biodegradable plant-based acid to further clean the mixture and create a jelly-like sludge of PFAs. Waste materials are eventually landfilled or incinerated, while cleaned water is reused or sent back to the sewer. The technology has already been used at some airports in Europe.
In addition to Sea-Tac International Airport, the affected airports that must abide by the fall 2025 deadline are Bellingham International, Seattle Paine Field International, Boeing Field, Pangborn Memorial, Grant County International, Spokane International, Yakima Air Terminal, Tri-Cities, Walla Walla Regional, and Pullman-Moscow Regional.
Efforts to clean up PFAs have been heightening locally and nationally. Last year, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) launched a PFAS in Drinking Water Data Dashboard, which publishes information about PFAS quantities in drinking water since 2021. A month later, King County filed a lawsuit that targets manufacturers, such as 3M and DuPont, seeking to hold them "accountable for the costs, expenses, and impacts caused by contamination," according to a press release from King County. King County maintains that "manufacturers — not the public — should pay for investigating, sampling, testing, and assessing the contamination, as well as the costs to install and maintain treatment systems and the cleanup of PFAS contamination in King County."
In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursued potential efforts to regulate PFAS on a national level, and in April 2024, the EPA announced federal limits of PFAS in drinking water.
Families with children that qualify for free or reduced-price school meals may now apply for "SUN Bucks" benefits, which can be used to buy groceries all summer through a nutrition benefits card. Qualifying families will receive $120 per child in SUN Bucks, which expire 122 days after they are issued.
SUN Bucks, similar to other food-aid benefits, can be spent at select retailers, including grocery stores, supermarkets, farmers markets, convenience stores, and online shopping sites. Stores that accept the benefits can be found via the SNAP Retailer Locator, which is an interactive nationwide map.
All families already enrolled in food benefits, such as SNAP, TANF, or FDPIR, will automatically be enrolled in the Summer EBT program. An estimated 550,000 families in Washington State will be eligible for SUN Bucks, and the summer grocery benefits can be used on top of existing SNAP or WIC benefits. Youth can also continue to enjoy free SUN Meals from local meal sites at schools, parks, and other sites, or through the SUN Meals To-Go, which serves primarily rural areas with to-go or home-delivered meals.
Anyone who is not automatically enrolled and meets the program's eligibility requirements can apply for SUN Bucks by calling 1-833-543-3230 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Families can also opt into text messaging alerts through the SUN Bucks Texting Sign-up Form.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: YouthCare's South Seattle shelter along Rainier Avenue South near Seward Park Avenue South is scheduled to close in January 2025. (Photo: Phil Manzano)
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