Volunteers of America: Supporting Our Village
This story is brought to you by Live in Everett Member, Lamoureux Real Estate.
You may be familiar with the phrase, “it takes a village to raise a child”, and as true as this is, I would argue that an addition is needed. That it takes a village to support any person reaching their full potential. This is where Volunteers of America - VOA for short - makes their impact.
VOA has a mission to “serve people and communities in need and create opportunities for people to experience the joy of serving others”, which they accomplish by providing a number of services to our community (along with many others nationwide). We’ve talked about VOA before too while sharing information on meal assistance and local mental health support programs, and luckily for us, these are not the only services provided by VOA. Here’s a rundown of the work VOA does in our community.
Information and Referrals
VOA sponsors North Sound 2-1-1, a service where you can call 2-1-1 and speak with an Information and Referral Specialist. These specialists access a comprehensive database to find the best local social service, health and wellness programs and resources so you can get the help you need.
Early Childhood Support
Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) has preschools in both Everett and Sultan that are offered by VOA. ECEAP helps our local youth stay connected to peers with education and resources to meet their basic human needs.
Disability Services
VOA provides a variety of disability services including supported living assistance so individuals living with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities can live independently. VOA also runs the Meaningful Day program where individuals can participate in community activities and training for DDA (Developmental Disabilities Administration) services.
Emergency Shelter
Maud's House is an emergency shelter for women and children that includes educational programs to help clients create more stable lives for themselves and their families. VOA provides housing resources through 2-1-1 and helps with housing mediation, fair housing education, counseling, and resources for filing complaints.
Dispute Services
In addition to housing mediation services, VOA’s Dispute Resolution Center (DRC) provides training as well as mediation services for community members. These services can be more accessible than formal legal options and are a voluntary and confidential way to develop a mutual agreement between you and another party such as a landlord, family member, place of work, etc.
The DRC team is dedicated to act as mediators between landlords and tenants to avoid eviction once the statewide eviction moratorium ends as part of the Eviction Resolution Program. The effort seeks to resolve any issues between landlords and renters so people can keep their housing.
Community Centers
VOA also maintains several community centers in the surrounding area. At the Arlington Community Resource Center and the Lake Stevens Community Resource Center, community members can receive help with a number of referrals, emergency food services, rental/utility assistance, donated clothes, etc.
At the Sky Valley Integrated Service Center, community members can access resources for their needs, including a local youth coalition, senior center, food bank, ECEAP preschool, a cold-weather shelter, and even free showers. There is even some discussion of VOA taking over operations for our Everett Senior Center.
If you need support, or if you’ve considered dipping your toe into the pool of giving back to your community - VOA is a great place to start! In addition to the standard volunteer and donate options, VOA also accepts donated cars (for a tax deduction). If it takes a village, and we all are part of the Everett village, let’s support those that help all of us.
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Angela Di Filippo currently works in State Social Services and recently earned her Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology with extensive training in evidence-based leadership coaching. Angela moved from North Carolina to Washington 6 years ago and has proudly called Everett her home for 5 of those years. When not helping others solve problems in creative and strength-driven ways, Angela enjoys her time painting, hiking with her terrier-mix, Indy, and eating waffles.
