Earlier this year the King County ESJ Literary Project invited employees of color to share stories of times they were affected by racism. The project reflects King County’s commitment to addressing the historical and persistent inequities in our communities that result from race. Such inequities are experienced by the county’s own employees, both on and off the job. The project received more than two dozen stories, which are available now to read at http://untoldstoryproject.blog. Sign up to attend one of the performances in which local poets and performance artists will read aloud… Read More

King County Community Court seeks to go beyond punitive actions to identify and address the underlying challenges of court participants that may contribute to further criminal activity. The hearings are held at Redmond Library instead of a traditional courtroom. This setting is less intimidating and allows the judge to be seated at eye-level with those being spoken with. The court addresses things like theft, shoplifting, trespassing, and other low-level offenses. Traditionally punitive action is taken against crimes like these, which don’t address why the crime is happening. In this courtroom members have… Read More

Crossposted from Zero Youth Detention “Our job is to listen.” That is how Upower coaches describe their role in offering fitness classes at the King County Juvenile Detention Center. Upower offers trauma-informed fitness and wellness classes at no cost to underserved teens in King County. Their classes are fun, safe and open to all fitness levels. Upower’s sensitive approach to trauma-informed fitness means that they advocate for physical fitness and social-emotional well-being for every teen served. Upower coaches get teens moving through activities such as cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, flexibility and fun fitness games. Equally… Read More

Crossposted from the Best Starts for Kids Blog We’re thrilled to announce ten awardees for the prenatal-to-5 Community-Designed Home-Based Programs & Practices funding opportunity. With a total investment of $5,825,000 million over 2.5 years, these awards to community-based organizations will expand the availability of home-based services that draw upon local community knowledge and practice to develop approaches that are designed for and valued by specific communities, and/or addressing populations not well-served by other programs. Congratulation to our new partners: United Indians of All Tribes East African Community Services Atlantic Street Center Centro Rendu… Read More

NO POSTAGE REQUIRED In-person registration for the Aug. 7 election has closed, accessible voting centers are open, ballots have been sent out, and it’s time to cast them! If you haven’t received your ballot, call elections at 206-296-VOTE so they can get a ballot to you. Ballots have prepaid postage for mailing, or can be brought to a drop box by 8 p.m. on election day. Read Election Connection’s new post to learn about new drop box locations. If you follow @kcelections on Twitter, you already know it is legal to take… Read More

Crossposted from Best Starts for Kids Blog Robots whizzing across the floor while kids learn coding languages to control them. Creative writing exercises that become movement-based art about what it’s like to be a young person today. A youth-led book club discussing The Hate U Give, a young adult novel about the aftermath of racist police murder. These are just a few examples of the incredible summer learning opportunities we saw while celebrating Summer Learning Day last week with our partner School’s Out Washington. As part of hundreds of Summer Learning Day celebrations across… Read More

The King County Community Court in Redmond will be holding its grand opening celebration Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 1 p.m. Visit the new site and click on the infographic sample below for more information.