The 2015 Human Services Awards Recipients
Outstanding Organization Award - Crisis Clinic
For over 50 years, Crisis Clinic has recruited, trained, and coordinated a team of primarily volunteers to answer calls on the 24-Hour Crisis Line, which serves over 117,000 people each year. Crisis Clinic is at the heart of the safety net in Seattle, connecting and collaborating with nearly every health and human service provider in the city, in order to help tens of thousands of individuals in crisis every year.The quality and stability of their operations help every agency in our communities reach the people who need our help.
Innovative Program Award - The Washington New Americans Program
The Washington New Americans Program is a joint initiative of OneAmerica, the State of Washington Department of Commerce, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association of Washington in order to help more eligible immigrants navigate the U.S. citizenship process with the help of volunteer attorneys, paralegals, interpreters, and community members. The WA New Americans Program helps immigrant families who wouldn't be able to afford the help of a private attorney through citizenship application assistance in a group clinic format. The program and its Citizenship Day events have helped more than 4,500 people apply for U.S. citizenship since 2009.
Excellence in Advocacy - Marty Jacobs
Over the past 25 years, Marty Jacobs has been tireless in her efforts to raise awareness of the issues, educating people on solutions, and encouraging them to take action to advocate with policy makers. She keeps track of changes in human services and informs her vast network of contacts on when and how to advocate for policies and legislation that supports families and children. Marty has transformed the advocacy efforts of all of those associated with Child Care Resources. Marty is always thinking about what needs to happen next related to insuring children's needs are met through advocacy. She is a quiet force and is never comfortable to sit and wait while an issue of importance arises.
Stewardship Award - Mary Flowers
Mary Flowers has worked for the City of Seattle Human Services Department for over 24 years. She is a dedicated champion for racial justice and a steward of the resources need to work against structural racism. She pushed the City to systematically incorporate Undoing Institutional Racism trainings into their practices. She is a champion for human services programs, finding creative solutions to the bureaucratic hurdles that can interfere with service provision. At the same time, she holds programs accountable for providing culturally relevant services and client centered services. She pushes people to change and understands that the real change happens over time. Mary's work demonstrates that people in government can be dedicated advocates and stewards of social services and social change.
The Ron Chisom Anti-Racism Award - GABRIELA Seattle
GABRIELA Seattle works to build a community in Seattle invested in educating, defending, and advocating for the human rights of Filipinas globally. Since 1984, GABRIELA Seattle has served as a model for local community organizing; through cultural celebration, expression, and education, GABRIELA Seattle has successfully activated members regarding specific issues relevant women of color and immigrant communities, while building community.
Mayor's Award & Proclamation - Community Health Centers’ Outreach and Enrollment Team
The outreach and enrollment team from all of Seattle Community Health Centers--approximately 100 people--have done amazing work to get many tens of thousands of people signed up for affordable health care coverage since the open enrollment began in October of 2013. 63% of all people signed up for Medicaid statewide (over 500,000) were signed up by a CHC. Nice work, team!
The 2014 Human Services Awards Recipients
Outstanding Organization Award - Mary's Place
Mary's Place is one of the few places that offers crisis response night shelter and day center services for homeless families with children. Mary's Place empowers women to take control of their lives by first providing basic needs such as hygiene, shelter, food, and clothing; and then by giving them access to tools, information, support groups and resources to find employment, housing, medical, and/or financial services.
Innovative Program Award - Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program
LEAD is a pre-booking diversion pilot program developed with the community to address low-level drug and prostitution crimes. The program allows law enforcement officers to redirect low-level offenders to community-based services instead of jail and prosecution.
Excellence in Advocacy - Alison Alfonzo Pence
Alison Alfonzo Pence has served as an advocate for vulnerable populations for over 30 years. Currently, as Director of the Food Bank at St. Mary's, Alison is responsible for eight programs that serve the most vulnerable in our community, including two programs--The Feeding Hungry Children Program and the new Mobile Food Bank--created in her tenure. In addition to her regular work, Alison has an exemplary history of service to her community in her civic activities and affiliations.
Stewardship Award - King County Bar Association Pro Bono Services
The King County Bar Association Pro Bono Services Department works with over 1,300 volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and law students to provide free legal services to low-income residents throughout King County. These hardworking attorneys are advocates for survivors as well as teachers and mentors for new attorneys; the clients that receive advice and representation are unlikely to get legal services, let alone free legal services, elsewhere.
The Ron Chisom Anti-Racism Award - Equity in Education Coalition
The Equity in Education Coalition works toward closing the opportunity/achievement gap throughout the State of Washington through a targeted and comprehensive approach to improve education achievement and growth. They are the watchdog that other advocacy organizations, big and small, look to for direction.
Mayor's Award & Proclamation - Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services
Abused Deaf Women's Advocacy Services empowers Deaf and DeafBlind survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and harassment to transform their lives, while striving to change the beliefs and behaviors that foster and perpetuate violence. They have been a model for numerous similar organizations nationally, providing services to Deaf and Deaf-Blind women who are not well served by existing domestic violence agencies that do not have the cultural and linguistic competencies to work with this population.
Pictures from the 2014 Human Services Awards taken by Timothy Firth.
