Service Area: Southwest King County

Southwest Youth & Family Services (SWYFS) is a leading resource for low-income families and youth in Southwest King County. Since 1979, SWYFS has continually adapted to the changing landscape of the region while remaining dedicated to offering education, counseling, youth, and family development services within a welcoming environment.

We have seen many of the families we partner with forced to move to suburban cities and unincorporated King County in search of more affordable living conditions. Suburban cities are ill-equipped to respond to the need and sometimes are far from the safety net of community in Seattle. Residents in need of services in these cities and rural communities have to travel farther and farther to obtain the help they seek. Some of our participants take two buses to utilize our services.

This situation is further straining the already fragile safety net for people in need as well as creating challenges for the physical infrastructure of King County. All of this is happening in a general climate of uncertainty for most of the people we serve. Immigrants and refugees feel besieged by the federal efforts to limit immigration and deport undocumented immigrants. Health care and education costs continue to increase without a commensurate increase in incomes for many families. Families report feeling more stressed and concerned about the future.

Families that utilize services from SWYFS are moving further south to cities such as White Center, Burien, and SeaTac due to the increasingly higher cost of living in the Seattle area. Below are all our site locations.