Program Moves Families Off Public Assistance
Spokane Housing Authority is collaborating with Career Path Services to help its clients be free of public assistance.
Independent Family Futures, a program sponsored by the housing authority, is one of hundreds of family self-sufficient programs mandated by HUD and implemented across the nation, said Cindy Alego, spokeswoman.
The program provides support and employment services while participants look for full-time work that hopefully will allow them become independent.
A five-year contract is set up between participants and the housing authority, and, with help from a Career Path Service case manager, a personal training and services plan is developed, Alego said.
Clients pay 30 percent of their income toward rent, with the housing authority subsidizing the rest of the payment. As the clients’ income increases, the amount paid by the housing authority decreases. The difference saved by the housing authority is placed into an escrow savings account for the client to one day use as a down payment on a house of his or her own.
More than 80 housing clients are enrolled in the local program. Since August, three have secured full-time employment and 11 now have part-time jobs.
“For many participants, the program has been the boost they needed to move from welfare to work,” Alego said.
The Junior League of Spokane has donated $7,500 to various charities through its Community Assistance Fund this year.
Checks were written to Junior Achievement, Ronald McDonald House, Spokane AIDS Network, Spokane Art School and The Children’s Ark.
The fund helps agencies and organizations that do not receive other volunteer or administrative support from the Junior League.
To be eligible, agencies must provide services that aim to eliminate the destructive cycles of abuse, poverty, homelessness and neglect. In addition, they must fall under the league’s guidelines of family support systems and parenting issues.
The Junior League cf Spokane has awarded more than $48,000 to various agencies since the fund was established nine years ago.
The Wishing Star Foundation received $36,000 in pledges during the Jan. 19 radiothon by 93-ZOO-FM.
The Breakfast Boys - Dave and Ken - were on the air from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to raise money for the foundation to help grant wishes to Inland Northwest children with life-threatening diseases.
The Chef’s Culinary Classic, the Children’s Miracle Network’s annual benefit dinner, will be Feb. 16 at the Manito Golf and Country Club. (Note: the date was incorrectly reported in last week’s article.)
A different Washington wine will be served with each of the seven courses. Fifteen chefs will prepare the dinner and visit each table to discuss the food.
A silent auction and music by The Aeolian Strings, a trio of piano, cello and violin, will precede the dinner.
Children’s Miracle Network is a national program that benefits pediatric services. All proceeds from The Chef’s Culinary Classic will benefit Spokane-area hospitals and agencies serving children with a wide variety of illnesses.
The 11th annual Works of Heart Exhibition and Auction is now showing at Cheney Cowles Museum.
The theme of variations on a valentine runs throughout the exhibit of 71 contemporary artists from Washington, Montana and Idaho.
From 5:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, a gala auction to raise money for the museum’s art acquisitions fund will be in the Fine Arts Gallery. Auction tickets are $30 for museum members; $35 for non-members.
For reservations, call 456-3932.
Pauline Flett, a member of the Spokane Tribe and instructor for Eastern Washington University’s Indian Studies Program, will teach the Salish language and culture classes at the Cheney Cowles Museum.
The 10-week series of Monday-night classes begins at 4 p.m. Feb. 12 and costs $25.
For more information, call 456-3931, ext. 101.
Enrique Chagoya, a San Francisco Bay-area artist and instructor at Sanford University, will be the first guest of the 1996/97 Visiting Artist Lecture Series.
Chagoya, a native of Mexico City, utilizes imagery from comic books, ancient MesoAmerican codices and popular culture to create statements about contemporary times. He is a recent recipient of the Giverny Residency in France.
On Thursday he will speak at 11:30 a.m. at Spokane Falls Community College, and at 7:30 p.m. at the Cheney Cowles Museum. At noon Friday he will be at Eastern Washington University’s Art Building auditorium.
The Visiting Artist Series is sponsored by the museum, EWU, SFCC and the University of Idaho. The programs are free and open to the public. Donations are welcome.