Girls and boys like me are considered victims and in the papers we’re called victims but a great percent of us are not victims. … But I choose not to take the title “victim” because I will NOT sit around feeling bad for myself because this happened to me. I choose to be the victor because I survived.” – Katrina

Katrina was 11 years old when her mother first brought her to the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center for counseling because of a sexual assault. Although she was reluctant at first because it was frightening and new, Katrina quickly began looking forward to her weekly appointments and told Larraine, her therapist at KCSARC, their time together was “the highlight of her summer.”

During her counseling sessions, Katrina found that she best expressed and explored her feelings through art and poetry. She often discovered emotions she did not know she had until she saw them on the page. Therapy helped Katrina recover from her experience; Katrina’s mother also received advocacy and support through the 24-hour resource line and family services.

Katrina and her family were able to receive professional services at no cost so they could concentrate on the important work of recovery.

Renton residents are not immune from problems. Most of us have sought help at one time or another when faced with a problem. Maybe we looked for help for a co-worker who said she was being abused at home, perhaps talked with a counselor because one of our children was having difficulties at school, or we were worried that a neighbor child was being abused, or a young family we knew was in tough economic circumstances and needed to see a doctor.

We have our share of domestic violence and sexual assault; we have hunger, homelessness and families without health insurance. In Renton and the rest of South King County, we have good solid programs available. We depend on a system of services and information to improve our lives and the lives of others. These services are funded, in part, through our King County taxes.

Now, this system, which has been painstakingly built over

the past two decades, is facing dismantlement with the proposed county budget cuts. The county executive’s budget proposes ultimately to eliminate funding for human-services programs, unless long-term solutions to the county’s funding crisis are found. This means that already-under-funded organizations will have to eliminate many of the very services that we or our neighbors depend on, at a time when that need is greater than ever before.

If the proposed reductions are put in place, South King County residents will have less help when problems arise. The effects are numerous:

• Less counseling for victims of sexual assault and their families who have found the courage to reach out for help

• Fewer services for domestic violence victims

• Less food for hungry families who are already struggling

• Less outreach for seniors who need help in order to stay in their own homes

• Fewer basic health services for children and families

Bluntly put, our quality of life and our ability to care for each other will be diminished.

We believe it doesn’t have to be this way. King County has a reputation for innovation, for creative solutions to problems. Simply phasing out King County-funded human services over a three-year period is not a solution to a budget crisis.

We call on the executive and the King County Council to work together to identify practical solutions to benefit King County residents.

Richard Brooks is executive director of Renton Area Youth and Family Services (RAYS). Mary Ellen Stone is executive director of the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC), headquartered in Renton.