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Mayor proclaims April as Fair Housing Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month; local nonprofits accept proclamations
Summary
Mayor Debbie Sullivan proclaimed April 2025 as Fair Housing Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month. Representatives from Thurston County Realtors, Community Action Council, Family Education and Support Services (FES) and FEST spoke in support; FES provided local child‑abuse referral statistics and described prevention programs.
Mayor Debbie Sullivan read two proclamations during the Tumwater City Council meeting on April 1 recognizing April 2025 as Fair Housing Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Fair Housing Month
In the first proclamation, Mayor Sullivan cited the 1968 Fair Housing Act’s prohibition on housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, familial status, national origin and disability and called on Tumwater residents and organizations to promote equal housing opportunities. Mark Irobayashi, president of the Thurston County Realtors Association, thanked the council for the proclamation and emphasized the real-estate profession’s changed stance since a history of discriminatory practices prior to 1968.
Child Abuse Prevention Month
Mayor Sullivan also proclaimed April 2025 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, citing the city's commitment to protecting children and supporting families. Shelley Willis (introduced in the meeting as director of Family Education and Support Services) and Justin DeVore, executive director of the Community Action Council, accepted the proclamation on behalf of local service providers. A FES representative stated that in Thurston County in 2023 there were 2,479 children referred to child-protective services and that the county's child-abuse victim rate was 39 per 1,000, higher than the state average of 35 per 1,000.
FES and partners outlined prevention work
Speakers described local efforts to prevent abuse, including parenting classes, support groups, concrete family resources and partner programs with Monarch Community Action Council. Council Member Dalhoff highlighted Monarch Community Action Council's upcoming "Rise and Shine" breakfast (April 16) and praised nonprofit partners; a FEST board member described the connection between childhood trauma and adult homelessness and encouraged investment in upstream prevention.
Why this matters: Proclamations are ceremonial but signal city support for local nonprofits and public awareness campaigns. The statistics cited by Family Education and Support Services underscore the local scale of child-protection referrals and the agencies' preventative focus.
Quotes
"We are proponent for fair housing," Mark Irobayashi said, noting both the profession's historical failings and its current support for equal opportunity.
"Child abuse is 100% preventable, and prevention starts with all of us," a Family Education and Support Services representative told the council while describing FES programs.
Ending
Mayor Sullivan presented city pins and pinwheels as tokens of recognition. Council members thanked nonprofit staff and encouraged public participation in upcoming awareness and fundraising events.
