What We Have Done:
SURVEY
The King County Play Equity Coalition is responding to needs of members while amplifying their stories. To understand more about how members’ are experiencing COVID-19, we distributed a survey where we asked about greatest concerns, most pressing needs, and ways that the Coalition could help support those needs. We are using this information to support individual organizations where possible and facilitate sharing of ideas and best practices during this time.
What We Heard
In summary, members are concerned about how the families and youth that they serve are impacted by this hardship. From strain on essential workers to unemployment of others, parents are struggling to support their families. This stress is exacerbated by disconnection from community and reduced support in providing their children adequate childcare, education, and opportunities for physical activity. These challenges have a disproportionate impact on under-resourced communities whose basic needs are jeopardized. Equitable support for the families and youth of King County remain at the fore of members’ concerns.
What We Are Doing, and What Comes Next:
ZOOM SESSIONS
We have begun hosting weekly Zoom sessions that enable Coalition members to discuss their current work, learn about opportunities for collaboration, and, eventually, plan for restarting programming once officials say it is safe and advisable to do so. To learn more about future session topics, please click here for our calendar.
If you wish to join, please consider becoming a member of the King County Play Equity Coalition.
ADVOCACY
We are encouraging, enabling, and executing policy advocacy on behalf of members and the Coalition. To-date, this has included advocating for federal and county-level funding for youth physical activity programming to support COVID-19 response and restart efforts. This will continue on an ongoing basis.
RESOURCE-SHARING
We have developed living resources to support our community. These resources are organized in categories: Youth, Families, and Coaches. Here, we offer ideas for remaining active at home with limited time, space, or other resources, and direct readers to other organizations of interest who are supporting youth physical activity at this time.
See buttons at the top of the page for all our live, curated resources.
INDIVIDUAL CONVERSATIONS
On an individual level, we are speaking with Coalition members to understand and support their needs. To-date, this has included support and information-sharing surrounding school district device loans, education plans, donation coordination, and more.