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Project Be Free updates Auburn council on co‑responder domestic‑violence team and new state funding route
Summary
Project Be Free presented year‑to‑date service metrics to Auburn’s City Council, described cross‑system collaboration with Auburn Police and the King County Prosecutor’s Office, and highlighted newly passed state funding tied to marriage‑license fee changes to support co‑responder programs.
Representatives of Project Be Free briefed the City Council at the June 9 study session about their co‑responder model for domestic and family violence and youth support, and urged continued partnership with the Auburn Police Department.
“I'm Katya Wojcik. I'm the cofounder and executive director of Project Be Free,” Wojcik said. She described the organization as a family‑violence–focused non‑profit headquartered in Renton that partners with Auburn Police to place licensed mental‑health counselors and domestic‑violence advocates alongside law enforcement on crisis calls.
Wojcik gave local service totals for 2024 and 2025: in 2024 Project Be Free supported Auburn police officers on 205 crisis calls, secured 129 protection orders for Auburn residents and made 87 mental‑health connections; in 2025 through April the team had served 105 domestic‑violence calls alongside law enforcement. She described officer feedback that responders “feel that they can trust in our team” and said advocates also do youth support for children who witness family violence.
Wojcik highlighted state legislative changes: she said “House Bill 1498…is now law” and described it as creating a state treasury fund to support co‑responder programs; she said the bill’s revenue mechanism adds $100 to marriage‑license fees and that the fund will be administered by the Department of Commerce as a matching grant. She urged Auburn to consider matching funds if the city wants co‑responder positions tailored to Auburn’s local needs and language service requirements; she said Spanish and Dari are the two most common languages Project Be Free sees in Auburn calls.
Wojcik also read a letter from the King County Prosecutor’s Office describing a March welfare intervention where cross‑system coordination among prosecutor’s office advocates, Project Be Free responders and Auburn Police “helped connect the survivor to emergency care” and may have prevented a death; she framed that example as rationale for continuing co‑responder investment.
Council members thanked Project Be Free, asked about geographic targeting and language capacity and heard that staff rely on officer feedback about neighborhoods to canvass and that Auburn‑specific hires reflect local language needs. Project Be Free said it has three full‑time advocates and six contracted advocates plus a DV‑advocacy team and youth support services.
No formal council action was recorded; presenters sought continued collaboration and funding conversations.
