Yuri started at United Way of King County as an Americorps VISTA volunteer with our ending homelessness team. He provided key support to the Community Resource Exchange and the Free Tax Preparation Campaign.

A year and a half ago, he was one of the first contributors to our fledgling blog, and he soon established himself as the king of social media at United Way. Yuri took our blog to the next level by completing redesigning it. In addition to blogging, Yuri is the person behind @homelesskc on Twitter. He helped make our first tweetups to volunteer at Food Lifeline and at Marra Farm successful.

Yuri played a key role in our first Hunger Action Week in 2009 by reaching out to food bloggers and getting them to participate in the Hunger Challenge. This laid the groundwork for an even more successful Hunger Action Week this year. He’s written many thoughtful posts for the blog about hunger and poverty.

Yuri was also part of the launch of our Bridge to Basics program, which sends volunteers out into the community to help people in need access food, utility assistance and health care. To further help people severely affected by the economic downturn, Yuri put together the Where to Turn website which connects people who have fallen on tough times to resources and services that can help them get back on their feet.

Yuri is a New Jersey native and is returning to the East Coast to go to grad school. His last day at United Way of King County is May 21, and although we knew this day was coming for months, it’s hard to believe it’s finally here.

Thank you, Yuri, for all that you’ve done to help United Way of King County and to help people in our community. I look forward to eventually seeing you on Time’s “Most Influential People” list and even possibly seeing a fat sandwich named after you.

We’ve written a good deal about food stamps on this blog,  especially with regard to our new Bridge to Basics program (which incidentally has just wrapped a highly successful pilot run). But I thought it worth highlighting this article for several reasons, as it chronicles national trends we’ve been seeing in Seattle since the recession hit in 2007.

For  data geeks like myself, it also has this sweet infographic, which is a handy tool not only for avoiding your Outlook inbox but also for comparing King County food stamp usage to other major metropolitan counties across the country.

Perhaps the most important stat to remember is this one: 90% of food stamp recipients have incomes below the federal poverty line.  For a family of four, that’s only $22,050.

The families and children utilizing SNAP truly need the help, and thankfully the stigma attached to the program is succumbing to the harsh reality of the recession. It’s not a positive sign that people who were once financially self-sufficient are now on food stamps.  However, it is important to remember that the program is working, and that without it our goal of alleviating hunger in King County would be nearly impossible to reach.

In Washington state, there are many resources available to help people who are low-income or who are struggling financially. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that they are eligible for services that can help. For example, in King County, only 66% of those eligible for food stamps are claiming them. This is the lowest rate in the entire state.

Families and individuals who have to choose between paying rent or buying groceries don’t know that there is a safety net available to them. With that in mind, we’re recruiting volunteers to change this!

United Way of King County is launching its new Bridge to Basics volunteer program. As a Bridge to Basics volunteer, you’ll be out in the community screening people to see if they’re eligible for vital services. Specifically, you will be focusing on three benefits: Basic Food (food stamps), Basic Health (low-cost healthcare), and utility assistance (reductions in energy bills).

This is an exciting new program that is going to help a lot of people. However, we need the support of volunteers to really make this program work so please consider signing up!

No experience is necessary! We’ll train you on all the things you need to know. You just need to be willing to help your neighbors and community.

For more information, click here!