Our guest speaker this past week was Peggy Ray of the Lake Stevens Family Center. She is the Family Support Supervisor at the Lake Stevens Family Center. Peggy talked about the services that the Family Center provides including 24 hour food supplies for families in need. Mental health and veteran services are free. One of the upcoming large events for the Family Center is the Project Homeless event September 16th in Arlington.
The Family Center is a program of the Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) and they provide individuals, families and children with access to a variety of programs from Housing Navigator (by Appointment) to Mental Health, Back to School, Veteran Services, Emergency Pantry which include food, toiletries, diapers and wipes to Assistance with DSHS Applications, Assistance with emergency Clothing and household items, Holiday Giving Program which assist families in need during the holidays, to Resources and Support for Assistance with healthcare applications, Resume/Cover letter assistance, job search and utility assistance (with disconnection notice). And, much, much more.
Two of our members, Joyce Bell and Terri Spencer helped create the Family Center in Lake Stevens. When Peggy took over the Family Center, it was top event heavy with the two largest being Halloween Night and National Night Out. Although they will continue to be involved in these events, others will assume responsibility for running these events such as the Police and Fire doing National Night Out. The original purpose of National Night Out was supposed to create neighborhood event throughout the community but, it turned into a large community-wide event. This year's theme is Strengthening Lives to Build Community, Strengthen Community to Build Lives.