Club makes it possible for women to cook<\/b><\/p>\n
The women living in transitional housing upstairs at Titusville Station will soon have a kitchen to share, thanks to the volunteer efforts of a local women\u2019s group.<\/p>\n
The South King County chapter of the Greater Federation of Women\u2019s Clubs \u2014SOKICO for short \u2014 raised approximately $25,000 to convert a storage room into a communal kitchen for the transitional housing facility in Kent.<\/p>\n
The transitional housing program at Titusville Station, at the corner of First Avenue and Gowe Street, is operated by Multi-Service Center. It offers a safe, structured environment for women recovering from substance abuse to live in for up to two years while they get back on their feet.<\/p>\n
Currently, Titusville\u2019s 15 residents can only cook with small electric appliances that fit into their dorm-style rooms: hot plates, microwaves and electric kettles. That means no baked birthday cakes when their children visit. No casseroles to share with a friend. Nothing that can\u2019t be fried, steamed, boiled or nuked.<\/p>\n
Multi-Service Center has long wanted to add a full kitchen to the Titusville facility, but couldn\u2019t afford the price tag, according to Traci Krieg, case manager for the Titusville women\u2019s program.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s healthier for them to cook and not be frying everything,\u201d Krieg said, adding that a better menu isn\u2019t the only benefit a communal kitchen will offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe main thing is community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krieg explained that many of the women who come through the Titusville program don\u2019t have families or other outside support systems to lean on. Those solitary women, if left cloistered in their own rooms, run the greatest risk of relapsing into alcohol or drug abuse, she noted. Cooking and sharing meals together gives the women a chance to build relationships, which may be key in keeping them on the track to good health and decision-making.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited about the kitchen,\u201d said Vernalisa Col\u00f3n, resident at Titusville for the past year and a half. \u201cThis is going to bring an opportunity to do some things together, and break the mold of just isolating.\u201d<\/p>\n
When complete, the 14-foot by 16-foot room will house two stand-up freezers and a full refrigerator, as well as an oven, four-burner stovetop, sink and counter area, and cupboards stocked with pots, pans and dishes. There also will be a dining table and chairs in the center of the room, according to the architect\u2019s drawing.<\/p>\n
All the funding and labor for the project has been provided by SOKICO members, with help from friends and family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a daughter and son-in-law who are architects,\u201d explained club member Carolyn Johnson. Those two, Jon and Kristi Dwight of Dwight Studios, donated their time to design the kitchen, Johnson said.<\/p>\n
On May 13, several older men in overalls and work shirts could be seen assembling white kitchen cabinets in the Titusville living room. All were either husbands of the SOKICO club members, or good friends of the family.<\/p>\n
The club members themselves will step in to paint the room \u2014 light blue and light green \u2014 once the cabinets and appliances have been installed.<\/p>\n
Finding willing hands to help was the easy part. The club also had to raise $25,000 to pay for the project. The cost \u201cwas more than we expected,\u201d said Johnson mildly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was more money than we\u2019ve ever had,\u201d added Nancy Jones, a fellow SOKICO club member.<\/p>\n
However, after two fundraising auctions, the club had raised the entire sum.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce people understood what we were doing and why, people were very generous,\u201d said Jones.<\/p>\n
Johnson and Jones said they\u2019re hoping to see the kitchen finished by mid-June.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a long time coming. Johnson initially proposed the project to the women\u2019s club three years ago after visiting a couple of Titusville residents. The club greenlighted the project, and Multi-Service Center eagerly accepted the offer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were excited immediately,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
But fundraising, planning and getting permits all take time. It wasn\u2019t till April 25 of this year \u2014 with funds, plans and permits in hand \u2014 that club members began work on the room.<\/p>\n
As the kitchen nears completion, Jones said that SOKICO is now looking for donors to help supply the smaller furnishings: pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates, mugs and the like.<\/p>\n
Once completed, the kitchen will bring new opportunities for residents, but it also will bring some challenges. Krieg said that Multi-Service Center staff still need to work out the details for sharing one kitchen among 15 women.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose are things we\u2019re going to have to figure out,\u201d said Krieg when asked about the logistics, including how to divvy up cleaning chores and what to do when two or more people want to use the oven at the same time. \u201cThis is definitely going to be an experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information about SOKICO, or to donate to the Titusville project, contact Jones at 253-854-3684 or Johnson at 253-896-0650. For more information about Multi-Service Center, call 253-835-7678, ext. 104, or visit the Web site www.multi-servicecenter.com.<\/p>\n
Contact staff writer Christine Shultz at 253-872-6600, ext. 5056, or cshultz@reporternewspapers.com.<\/p>\n
Get involved<\/p>\n
SOKICO is looking for donors to supply funds or items to fill the cupboards in the new kitchen at Titusville Station. To donate, call 253-854-3684 or 253-896-0650.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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