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Children living at Brettler Family Place in North Seattle participate in a photo shoot at a celebration capping off this spring’s Art Club, an after-school art program
hosted in part by The Seattle Public Library. Photo credit: Michael B. Maine
W
hen 30-year-old pregnant mother of four, Brettler Family Place serves as a prime example of an
Charleena Lyles, was fatally shot by police in her opportunity for The Seattle Public Library to listen to what
North Seattle apartment at Brettler Family Place the residents need and develop public engagement projects.
in 2017 during a reported mental health crisis, Library staff
After working closely with community caregivers, Lyles’
sought to explore ways to help her community.
death galvanized Library staff to initiate a new effort: an
Brettler Family Place, an apartment complex managed by after-school youth art club.
the nonprofit Solid Ground, supplies permanent housing to
“The Art Club at Brettler is a really profound example of
people who previously experienced homelessness. Though
what it looks like when community voices are the focus of
idyllically set next to Magnuson Park on the shores of Lake
equity work,” says Davida Ingram, public engagement and
Washington, it’s relatively isolated – the nearest grocery
programs manager at The Seattle Public Library, who led
store is a high-end market 2 miles away, and the Northeast
the implementation of the program. “When community
Branch of The Seattle Public Library is also 2 miles off,
members who deal with disproportionate violence know
neither of them convenient pedestrian destinations.
they matter to us and that we will help them create the
Continued inside
Anyone can be a Homework Helper
J
ed Fowler says you don’t need to be a
brainiac to volunteer at Homework Help.
After one year at Homework Help, Fowler – president of For questions about volunteering for Homework
H.D. Fowler Company in Bellevue – joined in. Self-described Help or an array of other Library programs, contact
math specialists, they now take turns on their weekly shift Volunteer Services Coordinator Anne Vedella
so they each volunteer once every other week. at volunteer@spl.org.
The program kicked off this year, running for 16 weeks from
January to April and allowing Brettler Family Place’s children
the opportunity to engage in several different types of art,
from printmaking to hip-hop to photography. In coordination
Kids at Brettler Family Place
with the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts and Culture and Solid Art Club experimented with
Ground, teaching artists and Solid Ground staff provided drawing, hip-hop, poetry,
and photography.
hands-on support – sometimes to show a child how to use
a digital camera, and sometimes just to be a reliable adult
presence and lend an ear.
enthusiastic reaction.
“I was just trying to create a safe space for young people to
express their creative genius,” says Dakota Camacho, one of “Art empowers children to see their vision of the world has
the Art Club’s teaching artists who shared their dance and hip- value,” says David Olivera, lead childcare specialist at Solid
hop talents with the youth. “I think it’s just about showing up Ground, and a constant presence in the lives of Brettler Family
and seeing that they’re beautiful and brilliant human beings.” Place’s children.
Time was divided between creative play and deep discussion What helped the program’s success, Camacho says, was
about social justice issues such as police violence and racism, keeping the children’s needs central to the mission and
says Ricky Reyes, a songwriter, poet, and musician who staffed showing them that people who look like them can achieve
the program in his capacity as racial equity coordinator for the their dreams.
Office of Arts and Culture.
“People don’t realize that there are people who look like them
“I think we don’t give kids a lot of credit,” Reyes says. “We traveling around the world being an artist and there are people
discount that they actually understand what’s going on around who are very successful looking like them,” Camacho says.
their community.”
Michael B. Maine, a photographer and teaching artist, says
Ingram says the Art Club arose from parents’ and caregivers’ that through that effort, the kids displayed their abilities to
desire for activities that connected art and social justice. express what they were passionate about.
But staffers and artists say it not only gave kids something “They’re celebrating their environment and the people they
to do; it gave them a safe space in which to be creative care about,” Maine says. “They were living up to expectations
and vulnerable. that maybe they didn’t even know they had for themselves
and it was beautiful to see that.”
“The group was really an empathy experiment for a lot of
kids,” says Oliver Alexander-Adams, children’s advocate at The Library maintains its presence at Brettler Family Place with
Solid Ground. Youth participated in sometimes uncomfortable weekly art programs throughout the summer, accompanied
activities, like listening to each other’s rhymes, sharing their art, by Library materials to check out and Foundation-funded
and expressing feelings, but they became drawn to the Art Club giveaway books for the taking. During the school year,
and looked forward to it. “People were excited to be there,” Northeast Branch librarians come to the kids’ schools and
Alexander-Adams says. ensure Brettler Family Place kids participate in the annual
district-wide Global Reading Challenge.
When he told kids, “The Library’s coming,” it would elicit an Continued next page
The Art Club might serve as inspiration. Those Do you want to MEMBERS EMERITUS BOARD
involved say that the culminating celebration that Cat Arnold Susan Adkins
support programs Stephanie Axelrod Patricia Akiyama
took place in June and featured the participating
such as Art Ross C. Baker, Immediate Gilbert W. Anderson
kids sharing their art with their caregivers and Past President Ruthanna “Fam” Bayless
neighbors attracted the biggest crowd for a public Club? Contact the Morgan Collins Marcella Benditt
I
Annie Searle Chuck Riley
f you need to kick your clunker to the curb but don’t want Claudia Skelton Ira Rubinstein
to deal with the hassle of selling your car, donate it to The Seattle Public Library Jennifer Southwell Ryan Sawyer
Bill Stafford Peter Steinbrueck
Foundation for its cash value.
Sarah Stanley Dan Sudit
The Foundation has teamed up with CARS (Charitable Adult Rides and Services) to David Strauss Neal Sullins
Ina Tateuchi David Williams
accept used cars as yet another way you can help benefit The Seattle Public Library. Hewan Teshome Steve Wolf
Julie Zunker
CARS will pick up your vehicle for free and handle its sale to an auction – they can
even fix it up to improve its sale value. Then they send The Foundation a check for 80 THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY, TRUSTEES
Jay Reich, President
percent of the vehicle’s value (CARS, itself a nonprofit, retains 20 percent for its social
Ron Chew, Vice President
services programs). Theresa Fujiwara, Liaison
Kristi England
These donations will help the Foundation continue to support literacy programs,
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY
early education, free cultural events, and Library collections – all while saving you time
Steve Griggs, President
and money.
EX-OFFICIO
To donate your vehicle, visit careasy.org/nonprofit/seattle-public-library, or
Marcellus Turner, Chief Librarian & Executive Director
call 1-855-500-7433. Or consider any of the other ways you can contribute – through The Seattle Public Library
monthly giving, a Donor Advised Fund, gifts of stock, or through your estate – by THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
visiting supportspl.org/ways-to-give or giving us a call at 206-386-4130. Jonna Ward, Chief Executive Officer
‘Virtual user’ expands reading horizons
C
arolyn Fairbanks of Madison Park opened her
Library account six years ago upon moving to
Seattle with a single stop at the Central Library.
supportspl.org | 206-386-4130 |