Letter from Nick: Central Washington Updates!
Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, once said, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Last year was full of new opportunities, partnerships, and programs in Central Washington. While we look forward to the year to come, and all that it brings to children in foster care, it is the perfect time to look backward for perspective and celebration.
It was January of 2022 that we gathered a group of Skookum staff to discuss the future of programs in Central Washington. The Landing wasn’t having the impact we planned for in the first six months and we wanted to find ways to help more kids and families in Central Washington. Out of that meeting we had two new goals for 2022: start support groups in Ellensburg and Yakima, and launch a visitation program to support family reunification.
It was March of 2022 that we launched our monthly support group in Ellensburg where a support group had not existed since 2019. Then, in July we began supervising emergency visits for children during their first 72 hours in foster care to ensure family connections are kept intact in those crucial first days. In September, we launched a support group in Yakima with a partner agency that serves over 80 children and caregivers combined every month. Then in October, we signed another visitation contract that allows us to coordinate ongoing visits between children and their biological families. During this time, we saw a slow but steady up tick in usage at the Landing that resulted in providing a soft landing for more children when they entered foster care.
To say the least, 2022 has been a whirlwind of new opportunities to care for children and families impacted by foster care. It was all put into perspective for Tiffini, Skookum’s program coordinator, and I during the November meeting of the Yakima support group. We had 50 children come to the support group that night, which meant a busy and very fun evening. As we were juggling crafts and the inevitable deluge of potty runs that happen with that many children, I realized that I recognized two small girls coloring at a table. “Where do I know them from?” I thought to myself.
““Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ”
Then it hit me! Almost one year earlier we had cared for these two sisters at the Landing. When they came to us the week before Christmas, they had just been removed by police with nothing but pajamas on and covered in what appeared to be their own feces. We bathed the girls and supplied them with the proper winter wardrobe but it was clear they had a long journey of healing ahead of them. At Support Group, two very different girls stood in front of me. They were definitely bigger and healthier looking than when we saw them before, but they were also more lively and talkative. I got the attention of Tiffini, and shared my revelation with her. Then we paused for a moment, admiring these two little ones in amazement of the healing they have already experienced through the care they have received.
It is hard to express how thankful I am to be a witness to the care that kids receive through the volunteers and foster parents we work with. We often don’t get to be witnesses to kid’s journeys after we care for them at The Landing, so the girls that we got to see again in November were a gift that represents the impact that the Central Washington community has had on kids in foster care in 2022. It also makes me excited for the impact this community will have on children in foster care in the year to come!