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local news SAT WNBA Champs continued from page 1 think that there are definitely ways for stu- dents to overcome some financial barriers.” Twito’s goal for the program is to reach out to underserved students, including kids who are struggling academically, are the first in their family or generation to go to college or don’t have the resources to take private tutoring and preparation. To achieve this goal, all of the program’s she is excited to be getting ready to leave for college in a few weeks,” Garrett said. “Her family is from Ethiopia and speaks Amharic at home, and she has attended the Homework Help program at the Lake City Library at times over the past couple of years.” The Seattle Public Library is a member of the Seattle College Access Network (SCAN). The group’s mission is “to ensure that all students, partic- ularly low-income, first-genera- tion college-going students and students of color, view themselves as college-worthy and college- ready.” “I just think it’s a great program, it’s one that I think really works,” said Twito. “We know that we’re effective in reached underserved popula- tions of teens.” Garrett added: “I hope that we are able to continue to offer this program in our com- munity and that it will grow in the future. I hope we can get the word out to more teens for whom an SAT preparation program might not ordinarily be accessible.” Students interested in registering can call the Seattle Public Library at (206) 386- 4636. They must be available on both Saturday, Sept. 17 from 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. as well as Saturday, Sept. 24 from 10:30 a.m. – noon. The library will be closed and unavailable for contact Aug. 29 through Sept. 5 due to budget cuts. outreach materials have been translated into Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Amharic, Somali and Vietnamese. Additionally, teen- services librarians at the more than 20 branches are reaching out to underprivi- leged students in their communities. Nancy Garrett is a teen-services librarian at the Lake City Library. Last year she con- tacted more than 100 students to remind them of test day after reaching out to Ethiopian and Somali communities, among others, in north Seattle. “One student who attended the free SAT practice program last year recently stopped by the Lake City Library to tell me that she graduated from high school this spring, and PHOTO BY SuSan Fried Taking the PSAT can help students find their strengths and weaknesses Defending WNBA champions the Seattle Storm players, from left, Ashley robinson, Camille Little and Swin Cash sign boxes of Wheaties Sunday Aug. 14, at the QFC on Mercer Street. alicia a. halberg is a student in the university of washington Department of Communication news laboratory. respite continued from page 1 Residents at the building were involved in the planning and construction of the project so they could ensure their living space remained undisturbed. An eleva- tor was built to provide a separate entrance into the center so that residents in the building will be comfortable with the new arrangement, said Felton. The Jefferson Terrace building is located within blocks of three major hospitals, including Harborview that is directly across the street. Harborview will administer care to the respite users, said Ross. But the center will offer more than just a necting clients to permanent housing and other essential services like primary care and behavioral health.” “It gives people the opportunity to look at other options for perma- nent housing or even transitional housing,” said Felton. Tom Tierney, Seattle Housing Authority’s executive director, was — Virginia Felton one of the speakers at the opening ceremony on Aug.2. He said that the respite center is one way that “SHA can contribute to serving our community’s homeless population as part of uation. According to a press release, “the respite the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness.” program will have a sustained focus on con- Felton agrees that the Committee to End Homelessness, which is behind the Ten Year Plan, played a major role in bringing about creation of the center. The apartments in the building have been remodeled into 16 client rooms with 34 beds. Clients will stay for an average of 21 days. About 500 clients will go through the facility over the course of a year, said Ross. “The idea of respite care is one that has been tried around the country and has been very successful,” said Felton. “It gives peo- ple a real opportunity to get better.” Sam Barrett, the president of our Student Veterans Club, I wanted to do one, and he ran with it.” Barrett, an Army veteran who has served three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, was excited about the project. “I, like many other people in the military, went through my share of traumatic Mariners. Ellis said that they are sending at least 100 volunteers from local corporations to work the event, including the Mariner Moose. “It is kind of a unique volunteer opportu- nity in that, volunteers are only helping for one day, but they get to have some direct contact with the client, and actually help connect someone with a service,” she said. “It is a volunteer opportunity for our corporate clients that has a deep impact.” Killpatrick said that this event is impor- tant for veterans and the people they impact. “We don’t have a draft because veterans volunteer to be there for us,” he said. “If we help them, they can show others what it is like to put service before self, to give back to the community, to answer the call of duty and then come back and be a citizen.” For more information or to volunteer, please call (206) 934-5417 or visit www.seattlestanddown.com. place to heal. Felton said that during their stay, patients will be provided with services that can help them improve their living sit- “It gives people a real opportunity to get better” atiaMusazay is a student in the university of washington Department of Communi - cation news laboratory. Veterans continued from page 1 provided soldiers returning from combat the opportunity to rest and renew their health and spirits. The Seattle Stand Down hopes to accomplish the same results for veterans. Dennis Brown, project manager for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project at the Washington State Department of Veteran Affairs, said the Seattle Stand Down will also offer fellowship for veter- ans. “I think it’s important for the veterans who haven’t touched any of these services to be reached,” Brown said. “It is also very important to bring veterans together so they can talk, have a safe haven where they can come and get some personal hygiene, get some medical issues dealt with, get some food in their stomachs, and get some clean clothes.” The Seattle Stand Down will offer all of these services, along with alcohol and drug counseling and long-term resource referrals for employment, low-income housing and legal assistance. Between 20 and 30 agen- cies are offering their services, free of charge, to the Stand Down event. “No one is being compensated,” Barrett said. “Every single agency and person is donating their time and energy to make this happen.” Erica Ellis, an online volunteer specialist at United Way, said that without volunteers and these agencies, this event would not be possible. “You need a lot of people there to answer questions, guide people and keep things moving and under control,” she said. “That would be a huge expense if you had to pay staff to fill that role. You couldn’t have this event without peo- ple volunteering their time and servic- es.” Last October Dr. Paul Killpatrick, president of SCCC, attended the Washington Association of Community and Technical Colleges meeting where veterans’ advisers from local colleges spoke about the specific needs of veterans. These advisors explained how veterans are more susceptible to post-trau- matic stress, dropping out of school and unemployment. “It just really raised my consciousness about veterans,” Killpatrick said. “About a week later ‘60 Minutes’ did a special on the Stand Down project in San Diego. I told “Every single agency and person is donating their time and energy to make this happen.” events,” he said. “I was able to deal with it because I had the support of my family and friends. I had that support network that a lot of veterans don’t. I don’t know how they get through without it.” Barrett began contacting local agencies for help, including United Way of King County. Through those connections, Barrett was able to secure corporate volunteers from companies like UPS and the Seattle Janelle wetzstein is a student in the university of washington Department of Communication news laboratory. august 17, 2011 The Seattle Skanner Page 3
