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