Cities need to target specific needs with their human services grants instead of sharing the picnic with too many ants.
At least that’s what David Okimoto, a senior vice president at United Way of King County, told four human services commissions from Eastside cities this month.
“This is the hand that we’ve been dealt,” he said. “We’re going to need to prioritize.”
Group from Issaquah, Bellevue, Kirkland and Redmond met to commiserate and share ideas earlier this month.
Most cities on the Eastside have come with a spectrum approach – provide support at every level of need.
With dollars thinning at the federal, state and city level, Okimoto challenged them to stop trying to keep so many programs alive and to focus on a few specific needs.
None of the cities have prioritized in such a clear way, and some openly grappled with how a city could even begin to do that.
“Ultimately it boils down to a value,” Okimoto said, adding that most of the cuts at the state level have primarily affected children, low-income families and minorities.
Since the recession began, Washington lawmakers have slashed human services dollars more each year. The state funds a number of nonprofit groups to provide food, affordable housing, counseling and healthcare coverage.
Those nonprofits also reach out to the now cash strapped cities for money. Issaquah, the smallest among the cities, is granting $270,000 this year. That compares to Bellevue’s robust $2.7 million budget.
Okimoto challenged them to help nonprofits run leaner programs, adding that volunteers are grossly underused. Youth Eastside Services, he said, once ran almost entirely on volunteers.
YES officials noted that the scope of its services has changed and evolved since its founding in 1968 as an all-volunteer organization.
“Today we are considered a community mental health center and our counseling is provided by licensed and credentialed staff,” a spokesperson said. “That said, volunteers are still a key part of our organization and in 2011 we had 174 volunteers give 15,910 hours of service, valued at more than $339,000. And like, most nonprofits in King County, we have tightened our belts considerably over the years and continue to provide more service with fewer dollars through improved efficiencies.”
“The state and the federal government aren’t going to bail anyone out,” Okimoto said. “We need to get a whole lot smarter in how we deal with this.”
The group planned for a joint commission meeting earlier next year, where they plan to share what they funded and how they might shift their funding next year.
