Gates Foundation to Grant $4 Million to Support Washington Families

10/30/2009

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Thursday announced it's giving $4 million to help families who have been broadsided by the economic downturn here in Washington state.

The Gates Foundation is better known for its global health work to end poverty and disease in other countries. But Bill Gates, Sr., says this money will help those closest to home. The new funds will help disadvantaged families across the state get basic services, such as food, housing and legal aid.

Gates: "The Gates Foundation is making these new investments because we know that when our neighbors suffer, our community suffers."

Some of the money will go to 10 community foundations in Washington. In Yakima County, for example, funds will help reduce youth gang activity. In Chelan and Okanogan counties, the funds will help improve the food bank systems. The biggest chunk of the new Gates money — $3 million — will go to the Legal Aid for Washington fund.

Salvador Mungia is president of the State Bar Association. He says more low–income households in Washington need legal help to deal with evictions, or domestic violence.

Mungia: "The edge of the line's changed. There's always people on the edge of financial viability. All that has happened is that that line has changed. So you're seeing people that normally wouldn't be there. It really brings home the fact that everybody is one major illness away, one job away, from landing on the streets. That's all that's changed is the line."

Some of the Gates money will also go to the state library system to help get people back to work. Many unemployed people go to libraries to use computers to look for jobs or write resumes.

Sylvia Rolle was laid off from her communications job last July. She's been coming to the Seattle library to get help finding a new one.

Rolle: "I'm here to support the Work Source organization, which is a partner with the Seattle Public Library. They've partnered with the library to provide a lot of job–search related workshops, one of which I attended. I found it to be really, really helpful. Really inspiring. And it's really just changed my whole outlook on getting a job in this tough climate."

Unemployment is currently about 9 percent in this state. Bankruptcies have hit a four–year high.

The Gates Foundation says it recognized the need for quick action. It says these grant recipients were chosen because they could deliver resources quickly to those in need.

For KUOW News, I'm Carol Smith.

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