To the editor:

Crisis Clinic was one of the earliest organizations to formally endorse Best Starts for Kids, Proposition 1. The six-year levy invests in prevention and early intervention strategies that will strengthen families and ensure our children reach adulthood healthy and ready to contribute to the prosperity of the region.

“Every day we respond to families and youth in crisis and needing help,” said Kathleen Southwick, Crisis Clinic’s Executive Director. “This levy provides critical resources to help children and their families build a solid foundation for the future.”

Science tells us prevention and early intervention are the most effective and least expensive ways to address our most serious problems. Lack of early support for children results in costly interventions later in life. Indeed, much of the County’s current funding responds to negative outcomes like mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, and especially incarceration – the most costly and least effective intervention.

Crisis Clinic provides telephone and online support services to people in crisis. Last year, we answered nearly 6,000 calls from people living in West Seattle or White Center, including families with children and at-risk youth struggling with poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, mental health, and even considering suicide.

It’s not enough to triage and treat today’s problems – we need to make an investment now to strengthen our future. As Crisis Clinic’s Board President and a resident of West Seattle, I urge readers to support Best Starts for Kids on November 3rd by voting YES for King County Proposition 1.

To learn more about Crisis Clinic, visit http://crisisclinic.org.