#YWHangouts: Behind the Scenes

The Firesteel Director, Erin, shows off a Hangout live on her phone!

Firesteel and the YWCA Seattle I King I Snohomish hosted two Washington governor candidate Hangouts to discuss issues that women prioritize. Democratic candidate Jay Inslee joined us on 10/3 and Republican candidate Rob McKenna joined us on 10/5. If you're curious to learn about Hangouts, here's a behind the scenes look at our #YWHangouts with the candidates. Scroll down to view the final videos and inform your vote!

What If…1% Of A Trillion Dollars Was Available For Education?

It's the fourth part of our Why Child Care Matters series with our guest blogger, Sarah, emphasizing the need for quality child care and early learning.Sarah poses the question: "how do we improve child care facilities while also making it affordable for all families?" Read on to learn what she discovers!

Schools Stabilize Families: What Back To School Means for Homeless Children

Families are the fastest-growing homeless population and more and more children are experiencing homelessness. 26,048 school-age children are homeless in the state of Washington. The McKinney Vento Act makes sure these children don't fall through the cracks and ensures basic educational rights for children and youth who are experiencing homelessness. As kids go back to school, Catherine Hinrichsen from the Seattle University Project on Family Homelessness shares what she has learned about the impact of homelessness on school-age children and what we can do to advocate for the educational rights of homeless children.

Photo Friday: Back to School

photo credit: Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness

Happy 3 day weekend! Labor Day also means back to school but what does that mean for homeless children?

Why Child Care Matters: Babysitting Mills v. Child Care

The "back to school" buzz is in full force! In the midst of new school supplies and other preparations, some kids going back to school also means returning to a regular routine. For students whose families are struggling with homelessness, school often means more stability and welcome child care for the parents. Child care can present a huge barrier for parents working to provide for their families and an obstacle that does not often receive much attention. For this reason, we are looking at Why Child Care Matters in a 5 part series running the next two weeks. We are excited to welcome another guest blogger Sarah Swihart who will be sharing her thoughts and research with us!

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