Children’s Safety Levy Needs You
In early August, after weeks of phone calls, meetings, and rewrites of policy documents, the Safe Kids Coalition of non-profit organizations that serve children impacted by violence, abuse and neglect gave a huge collective cheer. The Clackamas County Commissioners voted unanimously to put Measure 3-564, the Children’s Safety Levy, on the November ballot. The people of Clackamas County will now have the chance to vote on whether or not they will accept a 5-year levy that would cost the average homeowner about $45 a year.
So for weeks now, the boards and staff of dozens of non-profit organizations, including Children’s Center, have been busy talking to groups of all kinds from business to philanthropic and faith-based to political. And the message we are sharing is this: for as little as $4.50 a month, you can make a huge difference for children.
The Children’s Safety Levy, if passed, will provide about $7.5 million which will be offered through Clackamas County through competitive grants to organizations who are serving kids in Clackamas County. The money raised locally will stay local, and in coming to agreement on the levy language and implementation the following services were specified:
- Forensic and medical assessments for child abuse and neglect, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence;
- Emergency shelter for victims of child abuse, domestic violence, trafficking, sexual assault;
- Case management and advocacy, safety planning, trauma recovery services;
- Mental health counseling, behavioral health therapy, addiction treatment, support groups;
- Legal representation and advocacy, court-based advocacy and support;
- Parenting support, education and skill building;
- Strengthening economic supports for families;
- Violence prevention programming to reduce the incidents of violence in the community;
- Culturally-responsive and population-specific services.
The grants will be given and monitored by an unbiased committee appointed by the County Commissioners. And while Children’s Center anticipates that we will be the recipient of some of this grant money, we believe strongly that an investment of this magnitude will have an enormous positive impact on many of our partner organizations, and therefore on children who have experienced violence, abuse and neglect.
Annually, Children’s Center serves between 400-500 children through forensic and medical assessments, family support, and mental health treatment programs. We also train as many as 1,500 adults in various and proven methods of prevention. We have partner organizations that protect and work with kids who have witnessed acts of domestic violence, adjudicated teens who find new futures through healthy boundaries, encouraging adult support and personal discovery, foster kids who find hope and support through a Court Appointed Advocate, kids who find new skills and passions through after-school programs that offer STEAM activities. And that is just a few of the amazing organizations who will benefit from dollars this levy provides.
Here is the challenge – it takes money to get information to voters; to organize the volunteers and send out mailers and pay for Facebook advertising. The truth is this: to get out the hard facts it takes hard cash, and the Yes For Clackamas Kids Campaign needs an infusion of cold-hard cash. NOW.
If you still are not convinced, check out page 57 of the Voter’s Pamphlet statements and find out who is supporting this levy and why.
Thank you for caring about kids and taking the time to learn more about this important opportunity to help kids. Now that you know how important this levy is to Clackamas County’s most vulnerable children, please take a minute and give a donation today.
The time is short! Ballots come out next week and we still have so many people to reach!
Can you donate $50 per person or $100 if you are a couple?
Remember, in Oregon you can claim a dollar for dollar credit on your 2020 taxes when you donate to a political committee such as Yes For Clackamas Kids.
If you are reading these words, we know that you care about Children’s Center and the kids in our County. So even if you choose not to give to this campaign, please say Yes For Clackamas Kids by voting YES on The Children’s Safety Levy—Measure 3-564 – before 8pm on November 3rd!
