Sequim Gazette Editorial and Letters to the Editor

The recent loss of major funding to the Clallam County Community Advocates for Rural Elders Partnership, commonly known as the CARE Partnership, is unwelcome news.

What damage that will do to the program has yet to be seen, but the loss of a nearly $1 million grant will certainly have some impact on what services will continue and what will not.

The CARE Partnership came together in 2003 with the specific goal of addressing aging issues in Clallam County. Since one in three Clallam County residents are over the age of 60, the partnership was an innovative idea from the beginning.

But, like all good ideas, CARE needed money to sustain its long-range objectives. The pioneers of the partnership applied for and received a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 51/2 year grant to the tune of $950,000, with the decree to fundamentally change how aging and long-term care was delivered to older adults.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the largest private philanthropy whose purpose is to help people live healthier lives and get the health care they need. It was a coup for the CARE Partnership to have been awarded the grant in 2004 and since that time the partnership has been successful in promoting important and helpful programs.

As the elder population in rural communities grows, programs serving that population are becoming a necessity. Rural populations generally experience excessive deficiencies in health care access, social services and other services needed for healthy living.

Certainly a program such as the CARE Partnership is welcome and needed in Clallam County, a rural area of Washington state, to be sure.

Perhaps because the dream was so large and the partnership a bit complicated with the number of coalitions trying to work together, which made successes difficult to judge, the Robert Wood Foundation pulled the plug. The grant was to have gone through 2010.

The foundation's decision to pull out shouldn't come as a total surprise, however. Since its inception, the partnership has gone through key staff turnover, losing continuity the program needed. Without strong leadership, timelines slipped as well as a few goals.

The partnership should not fail and should not go away. CARE board members say they are committed to ensuring services and programs to the senior population in Clallam County. In order to do that, the board must realign its management team, bring in a strong director committed to a long-term relationship with CARE and the county and set reasonable goals that will garner more grants and funding.

Not easy solutions, to be sure, especially in the economic times facing not only this county, but the state and nation, as well. But without an outside funding resource, the CARE Partnership may well be doomed.

Building on the strengths of the 24 or so full partnership agencies and members, the CARE core board agencies and members and the resources in the county can provide answers to providing adequate health care and services to our esteemed senior citizens.



Community garden a worthwhile project



Hooray for those who planted the seeds of a Sequim community garden. Now we are seeing the fruits of that labor as those who have weeded, planted and cultivated are now enjoying locally grown, organic food and the food bank is the recipient of leftovers.

Since the garden was started this spring, about 20 people have rented plots.

Community gardens are popping up everywhere, especially since the price of food has skyrocketed and food safety has become an issue. Community gardens provide a chance to get to know your neighbors and encourage community involvement. Some studies show that community gardens actually reduce crime since everyone is busy planting and picking. Community gardens also educate our children as they can get up close and personal knowledge of where food comes from and how it is harvested.

All those benefits are now available right here in Sequim with our very own community garden. It looks as though there will be a few plots available next year, so get out your garden gloves, fertilizer and seed packets and plant all the ingredients for a fresh summer salad.

It's fun and delicious.



And finally



Homelessness often seems to be the problem of big cities, but those who work with the homeless right here in Sequim and Clallam County know that not to be true. There are plenty of homeless people in this area, including a few teens.

Those of us who have a home with a washer and dryer or access to a local laundromat don't give much thought to how a homeless, often penniless person, washes his or her clothes.

Thanks to Steven Welty, Sequim Community Help Center director, and several Sequim businesses, a laundromat, that includes a shower, soon will be open that will offer low-cost vouchers for the showers and washers and dryers.

What a wonderful way in which to care for the less fortunate in our community. And as time goes on, there will most likely be a need for donations to keep this laundromat a going concern.



Mary Powell can be reached at editor@sequimgazette.com or at 683-3311.