Roughly a year ago, Federal Way’s human services department got to thinking: What if the city solicited the help of the greater Federal Way community to solve, or at least make forward progress, on pressing social issues?
What has come to be known as “coffee circles” emerged. Community leaders gathered March 31 to discuss how to best meet the needs of all Federal Way citizens.
“We started these coffee circles about a year ago with the hope that we’d get a few people and solve the world’s problems,” human services director Lynnette Hynden said.
Participants at Wednesday’s event said the city will know its residents’ needs are being met when, among other things, there are:
• Fewer homeless persons
• Fewer people in line at food banks
• Fewer requests for help from local churches
• Decreased crime rates
• Actions taken to ensure every child under the age of 18 is covered by health insurance
“We should have zero kids in Federal Way that don’t have health insurance,” said Brett Niessen from Public Health Seattle and King County.
Ways to achieve the goal were identified as:
• Creating a collective database of services offered in the greater Federal Way area
• Creating accurate ways to assess housing needs
• Building relationships between many service providers in an effort to address a wide array of issues comprehensively
• Improve eligibility for programs to help citizens fulfill their basic needs
• Better distribute information on how to access services
• Identify indicators of need
• Ease people’s fears of seeking services
• Bridging culture and language gaps
Community input
Participants at Wednesday’s event were asked: “How do we know we are creating a healthy, thriving Federal Way community where everyone’s needs are met? What will we be doing together?”
Agencies that help community members meet their basic needs, church representatives, county personnel, non-profits, formerly needy individuals, Highline School District and more gathered at City Hall to address the question. Approximately 75 people attended.
Participants shared their concerns, ideas and knowledge of resources available in the community. Discussions focused largely on issues such as affordable housing, homelessness, food banks, access to services and distribution of information to help those in need identify places they can receive help.
“This is an opportunity for you all to have a conversation about your community and what you’d like to see for your community,” consultant Angela Powell said.
By the end of the three-hour meeting, the back wall of the council chambers was filled with post-it notes and hanging lists of ideas, Hynden said. Now, she and staff will sort through the information.
“There was a lot of energy in that room,” Hynden said. “A lot of ideas came out.”
The city is striving to create a sustainable leadership team, comprised of diverse members of the community. The team will create a mission and value statement and a strategic plan for addressing residents’ needs. It’s hoped the formalized group will govern itself and speak for the greater good and on the greater health of Federal Way, Hynden said. From this group, task forces to address specific needs problems could be generated, she said. Up-to-date information on residents’ well-being could also be provided.
Around the beginning of June, Wednesday’s coffee circle participants will be invited to attend a second meeting, where more information about the leadership team will be provided. Until then, Hynden and staff plan to pass on what they learned to the Human Services Commission. The accurate information about residents’ struggles and needs can be used to decide 2011-2012 human services funding, she said.
Get involved
To learn more about coffee circles, get involved in the leadership team or network with others who wish to see Federal Way residents’ needs met, contact Lynnette Hynden at (253) 835-2650 or lynnette.hynden@cityoffederalway.com. Hynden encourages anyone who was unable to attend Wednesday’s meeting, but who has ideas or concerns about community needs to contact her.
