Parent support collaborative worries money will run out

Published 5:30 am Friday, February 6, 2026

EVERETT — A Snohomish County coalition responsible for helping parents facing substance use disorders and poverty says it is about to exhaust its remaining funds.

Homeward House Collaborative is led by YWCA Seattle|King|Snohomish and supports parents with young children, and expectant parents, throughout the county who are facing challenges due to substance abuse and poverty. The organization receives funding from various sources, including a five-year, $400,000-per-year grant from the Seattle-based Perigee Fund, which ended in 2025.

Right now, they are living off of savings.

“We knew this was coming. We’ve been trying to apply for a lot of other funding sources, but there’s not really major funding out there,” Homeward House Manager Sarah Norman said in an interview. “So there’s just not much available, and we’re trying to get creative.”

Larger grants should become available over the summer, she said, or perhaps out of the state’s legislative session, which ends March 12.

“Well, this year, there may not be, but we know people are advocating for family resource centers and prevention funds for DCYF,” Norman said.

Gov. Bob Ferguson asked the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families to cut $36 million from its budget this year to help with the state’s expected $4 billion deficit. While advocates may push for funding, the money may just not be there.

“We’re just hoping that we can just keep spreading the word and that someone who might have some funding that we aren’t aware of, that’s not necessarily a grant, will see it and get excited about it,” Norman said.

Alex Acosta was living in a motel when he learned of his infant son.

“I was thinking in my head, ‘Well, this can’t be,’” he said in an interview. “Once I did a DNA test and came back, and then I figured out his last name was his mom’s last name, it all started coming back together.”

At the time, he and his now ex-girlfriend were dealing with addiction, and the motel was not a safe space for a two-year-old. Three days each week, he took Wyatt to a McDonald’s with a play area.

He didn’t have anywhere else to go, Acosta said. “That gets kind of expensive when you don’t have the money.”

Eventually, Wyatt’s mom told Acosta about Homeward House. It became a safe space to spend time with his son, and eventually a haven of support services.

“When Homeward House offered me mental health support services, I jumped on it,” he said. “My counselor, which I’m very thankful for, he told me if I was serious about being in recovery and I was serious about getting better, he told me that mental health will go hand-in-hand with my sobriety, my recovery, and I took that as important — I took it to heart.”

Acosta is now Wyatt’s primary caregiver and is working toward an associate’s degree in human services.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Sarah Norman was the manager of the Everett Regional Center. Norman is the manager of the Homeward House Collaborative. Also, the Perigee Fund grant was not the only source of funding over the past four years.

Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com; X: @BTayOkay