Groundbreaking for Greenbridge Redevelopment Takes the Cake
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FREE EACH VOLUME 24 MONTH ISSUE 7 A community-based newspaper serving the Puget Sound area since 1981 July 2005 Articles translated into six languages TheTheThe newspaper VoiceVoice of Neighborhood House Groundbreaking for Greenbridge Chambers redevelopment takes the cake packed at BY CLAUDE IOSSO city council King County Housing Authority WHITE CENTER – As bulldozers forum on rumbled across the actual construction site, elected officials and children from immigration Park Lake Homes clustered around a cake decorated like the hilly terrain of the soon- BY JAMES OWENBY to-be-redeveloped housing community. Seattle Housing Authority As cameras clicked, they took little green trowels and dug in. Roughly 200 people gathered in late With this, the King County Housing May for the Seattle City Council’s first Authority officially “broke ground” on its forum on immigrant and refugee issues. new mixed-income community Green- The crowd, which included East African bridge last month. and Southeast Asian refugees and Latino The fanfare was part of a ceremony held immigrants, mirrored the changing demo- in the parking lot of the Wiley Community graphics of Seattle neighborhoods. Center. The event, called “The Changing Face Speakers included U.S. Sen. Patty Mur- of Seattle’s Immigrant and Refugee Com- ray, Congressman Jim McDermott, King munities,” was organized by City Coun- County Executive Ron Sims and a Park cilmember Tom Rasmussen in conjunction Lake resident who is a star student at White PHOTO COURTESY OF KING COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY with Hate Free Zone Washington, an im- Center’s Evergreen High School. Yordanos Fesehaye, a Park Lake resident who spoke at the Greenbridge migration and civil rights organization. A bridge with a green railing, built over groundbreaking, takes a moment to smile at the camera during the event. The nearly two-hour forum was trans- a “river” of crushed blue and green glass, lated live into five languages and was de- symbolized the great step KCHA is taking sions for Greenbridge in notes cast into a renovation. signed to illuminate issues immigrants face with the redevelopment. whiskey barrel planter painted to look like The development, including both the in the realms of education, justice, immi- “This project is more than building a wishing pond. rental public housing and the array of gration, housing and access to services. homes; it will revitalize a community,” “On behalf of the residents,” said Yor- services offered in the community, has “The crowd here is a crowd we don’t said Sen. Murray, who has battled steadily danos Fesehaye, the Evergreen High senior been a boon to poor immigrants striving often see in City Hall,” Pramila Jayapal, for housing funding in Washington, D.C. who will attend the University of Wash- for a better life in their new country. The the founder of Hate Free Zone Washington, “Greenbridge will ensure that White Cen- ington on a scholarship this fall, “I want $35 million federal HOPE VI grant KCHA told a Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter. ter remains strong and vibrant for genera- to express gratitude to all those who are received in 2001 ensured a new future for “In Seattle, we pride ourselves in being tions to come.” making Greenbridge possible.” the community. liberal on issues like the environment. But County Councilman Dow Constantine Greenbridge will replace Park Lake Greenbridge will feature 300 low- on (immigration) we are behind.” said, “This is not just an opportunity to Homes I, the 569-unit sprawl of World War income rental units, at least 154 low- to Jayapal set the stage by providing recent pat ourselves on the back. We’re here to II-era duplexes that was KCHA’s largest moderate-income rental units and up to immigration statistics. publicly acknowledge that we are on the and oldest development. Nearly half of the 475 for-sale units in an array of designs, During the 1990s, she said, the U.S. way to realizing our collective dreams for homes at Park Lake I are still standing, not complemented by parks and trails. foreign born population grew by 57.4 per- a new community.” due for demolition until late 2006. Greenbridge will offer many services cent. Between 1990 and 2000, one in two Guests were invited to share their vi- The Wiley Center is also undergoing Please see “Greenbridge” on page 3 new workers was foreign born and one in five children in the U.S. was the child of an immigrant. Immigration is shifting from European countries to Latin American, Asian, Caribbean and African countries. Seattle museum hosts housing exhibit “Seattle is no different,” she said, adding that 17 percent of Seattle’s population is SEATTLE HOUSING AUTHORITY Building Museum in Washington, D.C., affordable housing into a Seattle context. made up of immigrants, up 40 percent from The need to design and build affordable highlights more than a dozen housing proj- That exhibit will include photographs of the previous decade. Seattle also saw a 320 housing in the United States remains ur- ects from across the United States that em- Seattle’s earliest public housing at Yesler percent increase in immigrants from Africa gent, or so demonstrates a traveling exhibit body good architectural and environmental Terrace, recent mixed-income develop- between 1990 and 2000, she said. entitled “Affordable Housing: Designing design despite the tight budgets associated ments at New Holly and Rainier Vista. Members of the forum’s presentation an American Asset” which opened at with low-cost housing. The exhibit will run and King County Housing Authority’s panel, including Jasmit Singh, co-founder Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry through August 28. new Redmond development, the Village of Education for the Sikh Coalition Wash- last month. MOHAI has also mounted a small exhi- at Overlake Station. ington and Julio Sanchez, an advocate for The exhibit, organized by the National bition alongside the traveling one that puts Please see “Exhibit” on page 2 Please see “Immigrants...” on page 2 In this issue Quotable Neighborhood House Non-profit org. Jesse Epstein Building U.S. postage PAID Health Notes Page 2 “I really applaud the courage and 905 Spruce Street Seattle, WA EARLY DENTAL CARE tenacity of those who were willing Seattle, WA 98104 Permit #8887 One to grow on Page 2 to participate and try to change GUARDING AGAINST APHIDS things for the better.” Dig in to books Page 3 Seattle Housing Authority LIBRARY’S SUMMER READING Community Builder Kari-lynn Frank PROGRAM CAN HELP on the immigrants and refugees who Translations Page 4 took part in a City Council forum on FARMERS MARKET SEASON immigrant issues. IS BACK See story on this page 2 – LOCAL AND NATIONAL NEWS JULY 2005 Health Notes Immigrants speak out A column devoted to your well-being Start early with good dental care BY MARTHA MORENO & GENE BECK DDS will also teach children early on that the Special to the Voice dentist office is not a place to fear. Some parents wait until the child has Even before we see a baby’s first tooth, severe decay before taking them to the it is important that we teach good dental dentist, which can be painful and traumatic care habits. Dental professionals are now for the child. urging parents to start caring for children’s Establishing a good relationship with teeth from the time they are born. your dentist early can make all the differ- This may be surprising to many parents ence for your child. who still believe that dental care starts at Why is oral health so important? school age or when permanent teeth start Poor oral health can lead to many other to grow, but early care is essential to the problems including missing school. More development of healthy teeth and habits. than 50 million school hours are lost every What kind of dental care do young year because of dental disease and treat- children need? ment. On school surveys, dental pain is a It is important to start caring for your leading reason mentioned for why children infant’s teeth when they are born. Clean miss school. your baby’s gums with a soft washcloth or According to the American Academy PHOTO BY JAMES OWENBY Hundreds gathered to listen to a panel discussion on issues immigrants face in Seattle. soft infant toothbrush and water. of Pediatric Dentistry, preventive dentistry When their teeth grow in, teach your means a healthy smile for your child. Chil- Continued from front page He advocated for increased support for job child that cleaning teeth is necessary, dren with healthy mouths chew more easily immigrants and minorities, spoke about training, more funding for ESL classes and fun and easy. Parents should supervise and gain more nutrients from the foods efforts to organize new citizens and dis- the creation of a city department to address and help children as they brush until the they eat. They learn to speak more clearly cussed the challenges faced by immigrant immigrant worker issues. child reaches age 9 or 10. Before this age, and quickly. They have a better chance youth in public schools. In fact, Sanchez also advocated for children lack the coordination to properly of general health, because disease in the “No matter where you stand on the the creation of a larger city department brush their teeth, so parents really need mouth can endanger the rest of the body. immigration issue, the children of today of immigrant affairs that would seek to to help out. A healthy mouth is more attractive, giving are going to be the workers of tomorrow,” understand local immigration dynamics, Brushing at least twice a day in a cir- children confidence in their appearance.