Making a Difference in Cowlitz County
Making a Difference in Cowlitz County
If you’ve ever wondered exactly how the work of Building Changes is impacting individuals and communities across the state, the Washington Families Fund grant awards announcement that took place on April 7th in Cowlitz County is a great example.
Staff from local agencies, community members, and business leaders joined Longview Mayor Kurt Anagnostou and Building Changes staff to celebrate nearly $1 million in first-time grants to the Drug Abuse Prevention Center and the Emergency Support Shelter – and to hear from people whose lives have changed as a result of these local programs.
Drug Abuse Prevention Center receives a grant award of $750,000
Emergency Support Shelter receives a grant award of $224,340
Here, Building Changes Deputy Director Alice Shobe talks about the importance of the Washington Families Fund and the “three things to remember us by:”
What made this event truly special were the stories shared by clients and staff from the two programs. Listen to Nicole Morgan describe her battle with addiction, and how “a community of people came together” to help her stop using, leave a violent relationship, exit homelessness, and get her children back:
Gus Nolte, Executive Director of the Drug Abuse Prevention Center, which is preparing to open Phoenix House, a new transitional housing program for families, talked about why this work is so important for the clients, the community, and especially the children:
Sherrie Tinoco, Executive Director of the Emergency Support Shelter, shared with us what funding from the Washington Families Fund means to the clients she serves, who are survivors of domestic violence: “It means life, again…funding from Washington Families Fund allows us to return that gift back to eight families.”
An April 19th editorial in Longview’s The Daily News stated: “The two grant recipients in Cowlitz County have been working effectively with the Longview Housing Authority and other local nonprofit agencies to support and find stable housing for some of the hardest to house — families with single parents, many who fled abusive relationships, others trying recover from drug addictions. It takes a well-coordinated effort to help homeless victims of abuse and recovering addicts rebuild their lives, and that’s the kind of effort these many local nonprofit providers have put together.”
We are thrilled to be supporting these worthy programs that are providing much-needed and life-changing services to families in Cowlitz County.
To learn more about the Washington Families Fund, click here.
