We’re excited to announce that we will be starting a New Affinity Group for *Pacific Islander and Asian parents and we need your input!
Help us distribute our Survey among *Pacific Islander and Asian families in the Greater Seattle area to let us know what programming we should focus on.
*FOCS recognizes that Pacific Islander and Asian identities are not monolithic identities. We wish to honor and welcome the identities and ethnicities within the groups, while also providing for the needs of families living in the greater Seattle area.
FOCS has been offering Parent Groups centering on joy and liberation since 2013. Our goal is to support parents of color to feel safer, heard, and confident not only in their parenting but in their efforts to address systemic racism.
We meet children and families where they are, which is why our Parent Groups are both Age-based (such as newborns, waddlers, and multi-age), and grouped by Affinity.
We currently have 12 affinity groups specific to racial and gender identity, including Black Moms, Native Families, Waddlers (Latinx), Queer & Trans Families of Color (QTFOCS), and Single Moms of Color.
Parent groups are facilitated gatherings to increase parenting skills and provide a space to discuss identity and race. Gatherings are eight to ten weekly, two-hour sessions.
FOCS curriculum includes dialogue on racism, identity, and the tools to best support raising strong and compassionate children of color. Facilitators are parents themselves with lived experience specific to the group.
All groups are free and held virtually via Zoom. Learn more about the variety of FOCS parent groups we offer on our website focseattle.org
Our 3rd FOCS Summer Park Day was a huge success! Over 50 big and little people from all over Seattle (we see you Tacoma families!) came by Judkins Park to enjoy Story Time, face painting, and just being with other families.
A huge thank you to our special guest Taylor Brooks from Douglass-Truth Library and our face painter extraordinaire Sam!
We have one last Park Day scheduled for September and we're ending this one with more Special Guests, more free books, and a Beach Exploration Adventure!
Park Days are an opportunity for families to connect, play games, and get to know FOCS staff. This is also an opportunity for FOCS families to provide valuable input to our Programs team so we can be sure to offer programming that meets the need of our community!
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For the safety of our community and its most vulnerable members, please stay home if you or your family members are ill or not feeling well, and observe respectful hygiene practices, e.g. clean hands, covered mouths when coughing, etc.
FOCS Staff Spotlight
Meet FOCS Parent Group Facilitators
Meet Fatima!
My name is Fatima and I've been a Parent Educator since Fall 2021
How did you first get involved with FOCS?
I was working closely with Boyer Children’s Clinic as an Advocate and Parent Educator since my son used their 0-3 services for children with disabilities. Through them, I was recommended to FOCS. My goals and passions aligned with FOCS, it has been the most incredible organization I have ever worked with. I am obsessed with the staff, other parent educators, the parents I get to work with, and the professional development opportunities I have had since I have connected with the organization.
Why do you think FOCS is an important organization for families and children?
FOCS is such an important pillar in our community, and my greatest wish is for it to grow and have everyone access these incredible people and support system. To have an organization that is focused on families of color, and supporting them has been invaluable. To provide a safe space for families to understand and process their own race histories and traumas in order to be more present and available to raise our children is an incredible goal to have, and they do it so well. By healing our grown ups, our children can grow up without the baggage we’ve all been carrying for generations.
What’s your best advice to a new birth parent or partner of a birth parent?
Get in pictures! And don’t always be the photo taker, or be self conscious of how you look. I have so many pictures of my kids with my husband, but rarely any of me with my babies. So my advice is to make it a point to get those memories with you in them!
Favorite place to go in Seattle with the family?
We love to go to the Woodland Park Zoo, both my boys are obsessed with animals, and that is a safe space for them to explore and experience animals they otherwise may not get the chance to see in real life.
Update: CONGRATULATIONS to Fatima on her new role as DEI Specialist at her child's school!
Are you interested in becoming Parent Group Facilitator? Sign-up to attend our next info session! Sign up HERE for more information.
The WA Therapy Fund is a nonprofit founded by Ashley McGirt in an effort to eliminate some of the barriers to Black healing. In response to the incessant police brutality and anti-Blackness, the WA/ CA Therapy Fund Foundation was birthed.
UTOPIA WA- basic needs, support groups and advocacy for LGBTQIA+ community
Seattle Green Book- Seattle’s Black business directory. Free and open to Black-owned and co-owned businesses and people holding space for the Black community around the Puget Sound.
Young Women EmpoweredMentorship-based empowerment programs serving diverse young women ages 13-26
Global Perinatal Services- Birth Doulas services are free to low-income, immigrant, and refugee families living in King County. Services are available in various languages including Somali, Arabic, Hindi, and more.
Northwest Vipassana Center- Free 10-day Meditation Retreats for individuals. Affinity courses including Black Heritage Course, and Bilingual/Thai and Spanish courses.
Summer Community Events
King County Library Systems Events- Free online and in-person events for children of all ages including free summer meals, Story Times, Teen Talk Time, and Trivia events at various King County Libraries
Jackson Street Jazz Walk- Sept. 9 & 10th. The Ninth Annual Jackson Street Jazz Walk (JSJW) celebrates the rich African American musical legacy of the Seattle Central District, where music icons such as Ernestine Anderson, Ray Charles, and Quincy Jones began their iconic careers. There is no admission fee for the jazz walk. Attendees are invited to make donations to support the event and benefit the Northwest Harvest Food Bank
Pratt Open House- Saturday, September 10, 2022, 6-9pm, Free. Artist demos, make art, explore Pratt Park for music and art activities, plus art fun for kids. Explore new art forms and techniques, play games; you might even win a prize!
