Covid emergency programs ending for Pateros Resource Center

PATEROS – A discussion with new board candidate Maria Escobedo of Bridgeport was the highlight of the regular monthly meeting of the Pateros-Brewster Community Resource Center Board of Directors last Wednesday, June 14.

Escobedo just moved back to the area last August and has been working with Room One in Omak and Twisp. Board secretary Grace Larsen said she would send Escobedo an application and meet with her to explain more about the kind of work PBCRC does.

Executive Director Gene Dowers reported on the following agencies or events:

• Salvation Army

The contribution from the Salvation Army has been reduced from $1,000 to $775 per month. Dowers reported that the allocation was spent in about 35 minutes this month.

“I had a line of 20 people at my door on the first Friday of this month (June 2) and we took care of them,” said Dowers citing the lull in agriculture work. “Basically, everything we wrote vouchers for this was food because folks aren’t working.”

• Covid kit distributions:

“We are not delivering anymore so I have been working on ways to get rid of our 180 boxes,” Dowers said.

A delivery was scheduled to the Brewster Food Bank for its weekly Thursday distributions to help it restock for the following week.

“If they can’t take as much as we need to get rid of within several weeks then I will approach the food bank in Chelan as well,” said Dowers. “I’m also making food boxes available to folks who come in looking for food. If they need a Salvation Army voucher, I will give them a box of food rather than a voucher when those are gone.”

Dowers said the center will hold onto its evacuation kits which are mainly hygiene items to make sure those are on hand in case of fires or other kinds of disasters this summer. He will continue to invoice Action Health Partners for more food and kits since the center is down to four pallets of the former and three pallets of the latter.

• Inatai (Group Health Foundation)

Will no longer provide the Recovery and Rescue Grant that PBCBC had been receiving since the Covid disaster has officially ended. Inatai’s focus will be on political advocacy over direct assistance.

“Being that nonprofits cannot be political and cannot advocate we need to have a different angle to work with them,” Dowers said.

Inatai will continue with the Community Learning Grants that PBCRC has received the past couple of summers.

• ERAP (Emergency Rental Assistance Program)

 ERAP ends June 30. Dowers said his office is doing follow-ups with those who have applied.

“We’re still adding hours to it and making sure that Okanogan County Community Action (OCCAC) gets the information they need to process the applications they have so far,” said Dowers. “We’ve sent a lot of people their way.”

• Conference Room

The PBCRC conference room is attracting users. Prior meeting series from WorkSource and Western Washington University interns are coming to an end, so it is back to single events like the Okanogan Angels dog adoptions.

• Tech Center

Dowers said Brewster Chamber President and Salmon Derby organizer Mike Mauk used the Tech Center to help with the design and printing of the promo posters for this year’s derby.

“He’s super pleased with the product,” said Dowers. “We worked through a couple of different options on the paper, and they came out really well.”

• APJ/4-on-4 Volleyball

“We have secured the (Pateros) gymnasium for the Apple Pie Jamboree 4-on-4 volleyball tournament for Sunday, July 16,” said Dowers. “A lot of kids will play 4-on-4 basketball on Saturday and come back to play volleyball on Sunday.

• Outdoor Learning Grant

Application has been made for a two-year Outdoor Learning Grant to help cover costs of equipment replacement for the Pateros sixth grade outdoor education experience. In the past Dowers and wife, Carlene Anders, have been providing and replacing that gear.

“Items like the sit-on-top kayaks, the trailer to store and transport them, the big tents for the kids, all the sleeping and cooking gear, a trailer for all those things to be stored in,” said Dowers. “At the end of sixth grade outdoor ed it all goes back in the trailer and gets parked by the bus barn.”

• Pateros Market update

The city held its first public market of the summer on June 10 despite the rain. Director-At-Large Angela Van Eysinga said four committed vendors were on hand and the rain subsided so quite a few people came through. After schools are out statewide tourist traffic should pick up in the coming weeks.

• Office space lease

OCCAC plans to rent a small space in the Center for the next two years for $300 a month. It would share a space that WorkSource uses one day a week.

“We have been trying to work with Community Action,” said Dowers. “This might be a way to convince them to bring some of their programs here.”