Center is a treasure for those in need of help

Published 4:34 pm Thursday, April 30, 2009

By Hilary Maynard, The Courier-Herald

The Black Diamond Community Center sits atop a treasure chest for those in need. Below the offices, meeting rooms and recreational areas that are home to dozens of programs for children and adults, is a group of rooms affectionately referred to by the staff as "the Basement."

Inside, rack after rack of food promises emergency hunger relief for those unable to feed their families. Clothes in every style, size and color line the walls of the clothing bank. So many clothes, blankets and other necessities are boxed or stacked in clusters around the room, one can barely walk through.

"In a few weeks, we'll start preparing for winter, organizing food, coats and blankets to be given away," said Judith Black, executive director of the Black Diamond Community Center.

The building is officially a Red Cross Disaster Center and a Salvation Army Depot. Its emergency food and clothing banks are kept stocked by donations from Plateau residents. Black thinks people are so generous because they know the shelter really provides for those in need.

"They donate because they know we give it away to people who really need it," Black said.

According to Black, the center has grown tremendously from its early days when teens used the building as a place to socialize with friends. These "Teen Drop-in Nights" allowed the building to develop as a community center, declaring its permanent status through a licensing for grants.

The center is a blanket that covers a list of programs for all community residents. It oversees many community programs, like the annual Halloween event, and the frequent "Safety Nights" where volunteers from the local fire departments come to teach children basic safety skills. Christmas is big at the center, and includes a tree lighting event and a large stock of presents for children and senior citizens who might not get it any other way.

"We don't just give them a present," Black said. "We give them Christmas."

The center runs a summer lunch program, "Summer Healthy Kids" that serves lunch to children up to the age of 18 from low-income families. Black said the program, a part of United Way and funded by King County Community Organizing, relies on volunteers to make lunches with food donated to the food bank and serve them at the Cedarbrook Mobile Home Park Monday through Friday throughout the summer.

In addition to feeding children from low-income families, the community center is an active and thriving place for seniors as well. Seniors can meet to play games and participate in crafts and activities. The center puts on special events for seniors and provides transportation to area casinos, as well as allowing for them to be able to spend Friday afternoon "out to lunch." The center provides an "Adult Day Social Service" that watches over those seniors who are homebound due to health or disability.

Back in the basement, emergency assistance is available in the form of food and clothing banks.

"We have a philosophy," Black said. "We will not turn people away from food. We realize that it takes a lot for people to come and ask for help. It is important for us to know that people can go home and provide for their families until they can get to something more permanent."

The youth activities and programs are numerous. The BACK (Black Diamond Active Community Kids) Teen Council strives to provide positive leadership for kids who come to the center, as well as helping plan community programs.

"Get On Track," the center's program for teen substance abusers and those likely to be reprimanded by the courts, has been used by many teens. Serving the entire Plateau, the program offers weekly counseling to those referred by the court, schools or even parents. The 14-week course is currently serving 18 teens, and has helped 65 since September.

Helen Bittner, youth program coordinator at the Black Diamond Community Center, said she is very excited about the childcare the center is able to provide.

"Before and After School Kids," is the center's childcare service for children between kindergarten and sixth grade. According to Bittner, the center was given designated space, a portable at Black Diamond Elementary School, to run the program.

"This is the first year they've let non-school staff on the site," said Bittner. "We even have keys now. Before, we were only able to be at the school during custodial hours."

Up to 15 children can be enrolled in BASK at any one time. Currently, there are 12 who participate. The BASK program frequently combines with children from the Summer Healthy Kids lunch program at Cedarbrook. Along with four adult volunteers, the combined group goes to the library on Mondays, takes field trips on Wednesdays and spends Thursday doing crafts. The center tried hard to keep the child care program affordable. BASK's full-day program fee starts at $17.50 for one child per day for those families eligible for a free lunch program. That compares to $46 per child per day at a nearby for-profit, privately-operated facility.

The center is funded by grants and runs on roughly $200,000 a year. With four employees, the center's main grants come from King County and United Way. Grants also come from the city of Black Diamond and the city of Covington.

One of the center's more expensive programs to run is Get On Track.

"It takes $18,000 a year to maintain the GOT program," Black said. "Most of the money goes to pay the substance abuse counselor that comes here from Enumclaw."

Although the center has no emergency housing program, they work with other area youth centers to keep families off the street.

"We have to work together," said Leslie Johnson, formerly the deputy director of the community center. "We're really god partners. We refer to each other."

Johnson, getting ready to leave the center for college, said she believes the center is worth its weight in gold. "We do parenting classes, we do Meals on Wheels, we try so hard to help this community," she said.

Black and Bittner agreed. "We have people very dedicated to their jobs," Black said. "We cover such a wide territory."