King County Veterans Program’s burial assistance highlighted in Wall Street Journal
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter
Did you know? In addition to helping veterans, military personnel and their families with financial assistance, employment, housing, counseling and other supports, the King County Veterans Program (KCVP) also helps pay for burial costs of veterans who die indigent.
Last year, KCVP was asked by KCPQ 13 to be a part of a story with Seattle’s Columbia Funeral Home about honoring our nation’s heroes both in life and in death.
The story aired in May of 2016 and highlighted KCVP’s role in helping fund services for the burial of indigent deceased veterans. Over the last five years, the KCVP Burial Assistance Program has worked with over 20 funeral homes to assist in over 150 burial/cremations of indigent veterans. The story caught the attention of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which ran a follow-up piece in January 2017: The Man Who Restores Veterans’ Lost Dignity.
The WSJ story centers on Columbia Funeral Home mortician James Lindley, a disabled Marine veteran who is coping with PTSD by ensuring that the unclaimed remains of indigent deceased veterans are receiving burials/cremations with dignity. As the story explains, James has found therapeutic value in his role as a navigator/mortician of indigent (and often unclaimed) veterans remains in King County. WSJ interviewed KCVP, which shared insight on the significance of honoring a burial assistance program and bringing dignity to these indigent veterans at the end of their lives.
The Wall Street Journal story covered the burial ceremony of four veterans as their unclaimed remains were laid to rest at Tahoma National Cemetery on Sept. 30, 2016. Four urns, each entombing the remains of a veteran from a different branch of the military (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force) were transported from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office to Tahoma. As a symbol of honor, the branch of each deceased veteran was represented by a color guard, a flag folding protocol, and the firing of three volleys from honor guard rifles. Both KCVP and the King County Medical Examiner’s office received flags on behalf of the deceased veterans and the ceremony concluded with the playing of Taps. KCVP has encased the flag in a shadow box for display “in honor and memory” in their lobby at their Renton office.
To learn more about what DCHS is doing in our community, read the most recent issue of the Touching Base Newsletter(on SharePoint).
Share this:
Texas-bound employee volunteers with refugees and immigrants
Pictured: Megan Holmes appears here, second from left, with other volunteers.
Megan Holmes, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, has roots in public service. Growing up, her parents worked with children who experienced trauma in Belfast, Northern Ireland and her mother traveled to the Soviet Union to work with teachers. Megan herself spent six months as a volunteer in Guatemala in 2005.
In her work with King County she pursues this passion every day as a senior social worker with the Child Care Health Program. Here she helps children develop the social and emotional skills needed to build positive relationships. Her role also takes her out to different childcare and preschool sites across the county, providing widely needed mental health support to teachers and children.
Working to improve the lives of families in her community has also expanded to include a faraway place called McAllen, Texas.
Every year, Megan volunteers to work with newly arrived refugees fleeing significant gang violence in their home countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They have been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and released to stay with family members while they await an opportunity to request asylum in the United States. When they are released, Central American refugees are brought to a respite center in McAllen, Texas where Megan and other volunteers greet them. Families are provided with a warm meal, shower, clean clothes, and a chance to call their families. This year, a crew from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 visited the shelter. Watch the video here.
The incredibly powerful experience of working to provide safety and security for these families has brought her back to volunteer three years in a row. She can easily draw a line from her King County work to her volunteer experience.
“I think being a mental health clinician, part of what motivates me to volunteer with this is certainly the thoughts of the hardship and the trauma these folks are experiencing,” she said.
With a background in clinical psychology fine-tuned by working at Public Health for the last nine years, Megan uses her skills to help families and children escaping violence and poverty in Central America for a better life in the United States.
“The experience has certainly given me a much greater awareness of the challenges and needs faced by refugee and immigrant communities,” she said. “It’s given me a closer look at the difficulties they face by systems that may not support them.”
“It’s been eye opening in that way.”
The experience has also been rewarding in other ways. Megan admits working with individuals in such life-changing situations has made her more aware.
“It has also been a good lesson in humility,” she said. “Getting to know people who have had to leave their homes is both unimaginable and humbling.”
Megan expresses great pride in knowing that her employer is a welcoming place for immigrants and refugees and has shared her volunteer experience with others, hoping they too will get involved at any level. This now includes her volunteer-oriented parents.
“I was incredibly gratified to see from both the city and the county that we are an inclusive place, a place where we have such progressive thinkers,” she said. “And now even my mom has been with me to volunteer in Texas.”
To learn more about Megan’s work with refugees and immigrants, or to speak with her about the Child Care Health Program and its efforts in health promotion and disease prevention, contact her at Megan.Holmes@kingcounty.gov.
Share this:
Online tax payments surpass $300 Million in 2016
More and more taxpayers in King County are opting to pay online thanks to the ease and efficiency of eCommerce. In 2016 King County saw double-digit growth in online tax payments, as the number of online payments increased by 8,775 to 66,338, a 15.2% increase from 2015.
First-half property tax payments are due Monday, May 1, and can be paid online.
“We are encouraged that more and more taxpayers are gravitating toward electronic payments,” said Mark Thompson, Property Tax Supervisor with King County Treasury Operations. “Leveraging technology is just one way we continuously strive to improve upon the services we provide to the taxpayers of King County.”
To use the online service, visit the County’s safe, secure eCommerce System. If you have questions, view Treasury Operation’s Frequently Asked Questions, call 206-263-2890, or email customer service at PropertyTax.CustomerService@KingCounty.gov.
Share this:
Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project: Update, March 2017
Last week the placement of new girders across 4th Ave S was successfully completed. In the next few months the project will work to rehabilitate north and south columns, cladding, capitals, corbels and pedestrian railings.
Crews recently opened the sidwalk on the west side of 4th Ave S between S Washington and Jefferson Streets. Crews continue work to widen the bridge footings, and installation of a large electrical utility vault next to the eastern bridge abutment. The sidewalk on the east side of 4th Ave S will be closed until late April. Thank you for your patience as we continue construction activities.
The Yesler Way Bridge Rehabilitation Project, which will improve safety and reliability while preserving the bridge’s historical elements, will continue through fall of 2017. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the project further, please contact YeslerBridge@seattle.gov or 206-684-8684. To learn more about the project, visit the project website.
Share this:
Kudos! King County Water Taxis receive rave from Seattle Times readers
This piece was featured at the top of the Seattle Times’ Rant and Raves list. Kudos to the Water Taxis for saving the day!
“RAVE After waiting an hour for a bus during Monday’s traffic meltdown, a fellow traveler said the magic words, “Water Taxi.” Dozens of us trudged down to the waterfront to join a line of 278 souls who were loaded onto the Water Taxi and transported on comfortable seats to West Seattle, where shuttles were waiting to take us home. Well done to the King County Water Taxi and its efficient staff!”
To read more about how the Water Taxi stepped in to save travelers from a difficult commute, check out the blog post Water Taxi triples typical ridership, carries 1,200 riders to West Seattle after tanker overturns on I-5.
Share this:
Social Media Spotlight: King County Metro Commuter Van Program Facebook
The Program operates an exceptional vanpool program and provide millions of commuter trips a year for incredible customers, and is passionate about helping people share the ride.
Follow the King County Metro Commuter Van Program on Facebook today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
Share this:
Tech Tip: Skype Bite: Virtual meeting tools
Skype is a powerful tool. You can hold virtual meetings with anyone inside and outside King County providing they have Skype for Business. In this week’s Skype Bite, learn how to start the meeting, share your desktop, share a PowerPoint (or any other document, like an Excel spreadsheet or Word doc) pull up and brainstorm on a virtual whiteboard, then mail that whiteboard to everyone on the call. View the video below to learn how to use these virtual meeting tools.
Share this:
Featured Job: Senior Performance and Strategy Analyst
Closing Date/Time: Wed. 03/15/17 11:59 PM
Salary: $4,147.00 – $5,644.60 Semi-Monthly, $99,528.00 – $135,470.40 Annually
Job Type: Appointed
Location: Chinook Building – 401 5th Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: King County Executive – Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget
Description: The Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget (PSB) is seeking candidates for the position of Senior Performance and Strategy Analyst who will bring a high level of skill, passion, and persistence for excellence in the development, analysis, use, and reporting of performance metrics. This position serves as the county’s senior technical resource on organizational performance measurement, benchmarking, public performance reporting, and organizational performance reviews. The position is critical to the development and analysis of organizational performance metrics to support King County reaching the goal of being the best-run government.
Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.
Share this:
Screening of the documentary “13th” March 16
Acclaimed director Ava DuVernay’s 2016 documentary “13th,” titled for the thirteenth amendment of the U.S. Constitution that outlawed slavery (unless as punishment for a crime), charts the unprecedented growth in our country’s prison population, positing that slavery is being effectively perpetuated in the U.S. through mass incarceration.
Join us Thursday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. at the Impact Hub in Pioneer Square, Seattle for the screening of this important documentary followed by a panel discussion. The Impact Hub is located at 220 Second Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98104.
This event is sponsored by the King County Department of Public Defense and the Office of Equity and Social Justice.
Share this:
KCIA/Boeing Field shines at Northwest Aviation Conference and Trade Show
Crossposted from The Centerline
We at the Airport recently got to share how we play a vital role in connecting the region to the rest of the world at the Northwest’s premiere aviation conference.
King County International Airport/Boeing Field shared the spotlight at the Northwest Aviation Conference & Trade Show, Feb. 25-26 at the Washington State Fair and Events Center in Puyallup. The event drew nearly 400 aviation professionals, experts, hobbyists and others interested in learning about the aviation industry. We served as a sponsor for the event and nearly a quarter of airport staff jumped at the chance to serve in the booth. Our folks answered specific questions related to the Airport, everything from general aviation to available hangars and tiedowns.
Read more at The Centerline
Employee News 