Airport Jobs e-UDPATE: Feature story

AIRPORT JOBS e-UPDATE:
News for employers

Community Service Center to be built in Sea-Tac

Affordable day care, other programs will benefit airport employees, employers

Airport Jobs e-UPDATE, September 16, 2003



	Artist's rendition of Community Service Center, slated for completion in 2005.

When Lutheran Community Services (LCS) completes fundraising and construction for its new Community Service Center near the airport, area employers will benefit greatly from having improved childcare, medical coverage, and family support services located nearby for their workers.

South King County has been consistently identified with high-priority and critical unmet community needs by government and community organizations. Comprised of young families, seniors, and immigrants and refugees from all over the world, the need for social services is immense, and includes:

High-quality, low-cost childcare
Support and outreach to immigrant and refugee families
Parent and family support, including skills for building positive family relationships
In-home support and services to reduce isolation for seniors

Responding to community needs
In response to these challenges, LCS is raising $7.3 million to build a new 3 story, 30,000 sq. ft. Community Service Center, on a campus-like setting in the Sea-Tac area. The project is slated for completion in the summer of 2005, and will include 80 units of housing for seniors in a separate building on the property, built by the Lutheran Alliance to Create Housing.

Many of the service center’s programs and facilities will significantly lower barriers to employment, including: a day care center with extended hours; a community health clinic; offices to accommodate additional counseling, in-home care staff and case management programs; support group meeting space; and a family support center. Services will be offered on a sliding-fee scale based on income.

Employers have an opportunity to partner
LCS is ready to work with employers to help them get the most out of what the center has to offer. “We would love to partner with employers where they could secure a number of childcare slots for their employees – better yet if they would be willing to subsidize those slots for their employees,” says Larry Johnson, who is heading up the capital campaign for the project. He adds, “We will also work with employers for referrals to our programs.”

The medical clinic will be operated by Community Health Centers of King County, serving the under-insured, uninsured, and Medicare patients, as well as those with the ability to pay or insurance coverage. As a non-profit, their focus is to serve those without other financial resources for medical care.

About Lutheran Community Services Northwest
Lutheran Community Services Northwest is a non-profit agency established by the Lutheran Church to provide high quality, compassionate service that helps all people regardless of their religious affiliation, condition or stage in life. The agency encompasses a three state area of service with headquarters located in SeaTac. Its mission is to partner with individuals, families and communities for health, justice and hope.

To learn more about LCS Northwest and the Community Service Center, email Larry Johnson at ljohnson@lcsnw.org

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