East African Community King County

EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY KING COUNTY DEMOGRAPHICS

Seattle is home to to more than 40,000 people who were originally born in a country in East Africa.  Mostly concentrated in the Southeast section of the city, families come from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, or Kenya live & work in the Seattle area. Somali, Amharic, or Oromo are common languages spoken in East African homes and communities.  While coming from the  East African region,  East African communities practice different religions, speak many languages, and have unique cultural practices.

county resources

East African Community Task Force

EACS is not currently receiving the PMHI Grant. They were most recently funded ( July 2021-June 2023)

East African Community Services (EACS) is the recipient of the Perinatal Mental Health Initiative (PMHI) Grant. The PMHI is a partnership between local grant funded organizations, Perinatal Support Washington, and the funder Strengthening Families Washington, a program within the Department of Children, Youth & Families. The PMHI focuses on perinatal mental health capacity building for local communities aimed at increasing awareness of perinatal mental health disorders amongst providers and families, increasing perinatal mental health screening and appropriate referrals, and creating easy pathways for families to access the care they need. Currently, there are 11 funded communities in Washington state.  EACS received funding for the PMHI in July 2021 and this project will end in June 2023.

EACS is a 21-year old, East African-led and serving nonprofit organization. We serve hundreds of East African youth and families every year through our Seattle and SeaTac Community Centers. EACS offers wraparound youth and family programs that engage and nurture the whole family.

EACS serves primarily East African refugees and Immigrants in South Seattle's New Holly, Othello, and Rainier Beach areas and SeaTac and surrounding South King County cities. In general, we serve a large community of low-income, intergenerational East African refugee and immigrant families. Many of our families lack English language competency and live in cultural silos. We hope to help these communities through best practices designed to foster whole-life, whole-family well-being.

As East African refugee and immigrant families, we are proud, resourceful, interconnected, intergenerational, and deeply family-focused. The communities we serve are often identified for their generosity of spirit and sharing.

East African Community Task Force is regularly attended by early learning practitioners, community representatives from various non-profits serving East African Families, and invited guests. The purpose of our task force is to increase awareness of best practices for mental health, well-being, and critical education opportunities (ie.,COVID-19 and other emergent threats to infant, parent, and family well-being. Our goals are to stand in solidarity with and empower each other through (a) co-education, knowledge, and resource sharing; a safe-space for mental well-being and solidarity building.

 

CURRENT GOALS FOR EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY TASK FORCE INCLUDE:

  • Training providers to build awareness of perinatal mental health
  • Parent support group
  • Helping parents find culturally respective perinatal mental health care

GET INVOLVED

CONTACT:  Jawaahir Omar

East African Community Task Force
Not Currently Meeting

MEETING DATES: TBA

RESOURCES

LOCAL PROJECTS

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UPCOMING EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUPS IN KING COUNTY

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EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY IN KING COUNTY TRAININGS & EVENTS

If there are no local trainings listed at this time, please visit our Washington State Provider Trainings page.