By Marilyn Littlejohn

For those needing help with life difficulties, the new Burien Community Resource Center provides easy access to approximately 40 community service providers.

Opened in February, 2019, as a joint effort of King County District Court and the City of Burien, the resource center is open to everyone who lives and works in the community. On any given Monday between 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon at the Burien Community Center (14700 6th Ave SW, Burien), a visitor will find, on average, 16 community service organizations offering services such as:

• Cash / financial assistance

• Transportation / ORCA Lift/ shuttles

• Employment and training opportunities

• Housing search support

• Food assistance

• Legal assistance

• Dispute resolution

• Mental health treatment

• Substance use treatment

• Youth & young adult programs

 

The Burien Community Resource Center enables individuals, families and seniors access to the community resources they need to improve the quality of their lives and to address emergencies. Come check us out; you don’t need to talk to anyone if you don’t want to, but just see if we have something that will help you.

Colleen Brandt-Schluter, human services manager for the City of Burien says, “We’re excited to help coordinate all of these resources in one place. This greatly improves access to services.”

Community volunteer Marvin McMillan is a prime example of how the center is welcoming and helpful. Marvin greets each visitor with a cheerful “hi,” and helps point you to the services you are looking for. A long-time volunteer in the Burien community, Marvin is no stranger to going above and beyond to help others. This spring a man experiencing homelessness came into the community resource center and told Marvin someone had given him a can of food, but he did not have a way to open it. On his own time and with his own money, Marvin got the man a can opener. Marvin is just one of many community volunteers who are available to help people access the resources they need to improve their lives.

Marilyn Littlejohn is a community court coordinator with King County District Court.