Our values of integrity, excellence, fiscal responsibility, community, customer service, employee satisfaction and respect form the foundation of everything we do here at SA. I want to focus on the value of community in this post. 

Community is the basis for belonging. It helps people feel values, engaged, and worthy. It is the “why” of the work we do. We build community by building connections. We connect our most vulnerable community members with the resources they need to rise above their challenges. We connect our clients with opportunities to explore and actualize their best selves. We partner with other community organizations to strengthen a collective web of support for those who need it most, and to ultimately position those we serve to flourish without us. 

A community thrives when its members thrive and we are in the business of helping people thrive. 

Our Vancouver program does a fantastic job of supporting the kids served to be engaged in their community through various activities.  The program goes above and beyond to support youth to get involved when they have interest in hobbies or activities.     

One of the newer teens expressed an interest in fishing and demonstrated a solid knowledge base on proper use of tools and safety. To facilitate his engagement, the program helped him get his Washington State fishing license so that, even when he leaves our program, he will be able to fish anywhere in Washington.    

Heather Hansen shares, “It is my philosophy under the community value that we find places for our youth to build positive and pro-social connections within the community by helping them engage in their natural interests. This creates a more intrinsic motivator and something that the youth can take with them on their travels. Not only this but these activities, these growing hobbies, can become coping skills that they can rely on for the rest of their lives to help them balance and face the challenges that come their way.”   

The majority of our roles here at SA are directly involved in helping clients build community connections and thrive by living successfully in their communities.  We know that, for many of us, contributing to our communities is a significant help when we are building resilience within ourselves.  This is a great opportunity for us all to consider what we can do to help people in our communities.  Isn’t it great that helping others also helps us strengthen ourselves?