Summary

King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove secured $50,000 in the 2021-2022 biennial King County budget for Kent’s Open Doors for Multicultural Families to begin the planning process for a community center for individuals and families with disabilities. The center is part of a broader vision for a low-income housing community for people with disabilities.

Story

King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove secured $50,000 in the 2021-2022 biennial King County budget for Kent’s Open Doors for Multicultural Families to begin the planning process for a community center for individuals and families with disabilities. The center is part of a broader vision for a low-income housing community for people with disabilities.

“People with disabilities face numerous barriers in society and those challenges are even worse for those who are recent immigrants, don’t speak English well or have faced institutionalized racism throughout their lives,” Upthegrove said. “Creating a place in South King County where individuals feel welcome and safe, regardless of disability, is a vision we should all support.”

The funding will support community engagement and concept development for the proposed center which is part of a larger vision to build an inclusive, affordable/low income housing community designed for and celebrating people with disabilities and the BIPOC community for their different abilities, culture, and heritage.

“Councilmember Upthegrove has been a strong advocate for the disabilities community throughout his career and he continues to deliver results to our community with his support of seed funding for this project,” said Ginger Kwan, Executive Director of Open Doors for Multicultural Families. “This is a place that will be created by and for people with disabilities and the BIPOC community based on their needs and what makes them feel at home.”