Strong Families Northwest

Strong Families Northwest is part of a national initiative to change the way people think and feel about family and how we act in support of families. The dominant notion of a family, where a mom stays home while a dad goes to work, is not the dominant reality. 4 out of 5 people living in the U.S. are in families of a different shape and form. 

The goal of Strong Families is to change the cultural and political definition of “family” so that policies support ALL women and families well.

This project particularly speaks to and organizes women of color, who bear the brunt of anti-woman and anti-family policies. At the same time, it speaks to values shared across communities. By using the powerful value-infused frame of family, we have an opportunity to build new bridges and win in ways we haven’t had before.

Strong Families NW combines movement building analysis and training growing communications experience and infrastructure for cohort groups. The Center provides each cohort group support  to advance their campaigns through December 2012.

Strong Families NW cohort groups are:

●    Community to Community, Bellingham, WA, is led by women and farmworkers with a focus developing leadership to respond to health, housing and immigration enforcement issues

●    Got Green, Seattle, WA, is led by young adults of color and low income people to make sure the benefits of the new green economy – jobs, access to healthy food, energy efficient homes, and good public transit – become widely available to low income communities of color.

●    Catalyst for Kids/ Parent Advocacy Committees supports a statewide network of parents who have lost temporary or permanent custodial rights to the welfare system, strengthening parents’ advocacy for policy and practice to improve outcomes for children and families.

●    Seattle Young People’s Project fosters leadership development of youth of color, working class, LGBTQ youth and directly challenging the school-to-prison pipeline.