Sammamish commissioners review mental‑wellness and seniors grants, flag $110,000 youth‑counselor request for follow‑up

Commissioners on the Sammamish City Human Services Commission spent much of their meeting reviewing mental‑wellness and seniors grant applications and asking staff for follow‑up information on a few large or irregular requests.

Staff opened the review by noting the mental‑wellness subgroup had consolidated total requests of $363,430 down to recommended funding of $158,828 for further consideration. The commission did not take final votes; members were asked to return on July 8 to finalize recommendations that will be forwarded to the city council in September.

Public comment framed the local need. “I’m Lalita Dawa. I go by she/her and I’m the executive director for Indian‑American Community Services,” said Lalita Dawa, who thanked the commission for prior funding and described the organization’s 2025 work: more than 300 youth trained through two‑day mental‑health first‑aid sessions, 8,500+ hours of case management and legal consults, and roughly 11,500 volunteer hours supporting counseling and groups that reach seniors, youth and women in crisis. Senior‑program coordinator Banga Tari told commissioners IAS provides three weekly senior activities in Sammamish and already logged 1,100+ hours of one‑on‑one counseling in 2025.

Key debate centered on a Youth Eastside Services request for $110,000. Commissioners said the city previously funded a full‑time counselor placed at Cross Path Counseling who also managed intake and warm handoffs; Cross Path has since dissolved and the counselor’s work appears to be shifting to school‑based counseling without a centralized intake function. Staff told the commission the new application proposes counseling time in several schools rather than the prior centralized intake/assessment model and that the applicant would not accept partial funding. Commissioners raised several concerns: whether the in‑school counselors currently available are sufficient for need, whether one counselor spread across the city would be effective, whether the program’s reduced measurable service units reflect capacity changes, and why the applicant did not accept partial funding. Staff also noted prior non‑payment in the last cycle when deliverables were not met and said they would follow up with the applicant for clarification.

Commissioners recommended full or partial funding for several culturally responsive and school‑aligned programs, and they highlighted the Indian‑American Community Services application as a locally important, high‑leverage program. The subgroup recommended $30,000 for that organization, citing its linguistic capacity, support groups, drop‑in counseling, and the volunteer hours its programming leverages.

Several smaller and new programs received moderated recommendations or were declined because applications lacked city‑specific service units. Commissioners emphasized that incomplete applications (for example, an organization that requested $70,000 with county‑level metrics but no Sammamish service units) would generally not be funded unless staff and the applicant could clarify reach and deliverables.

Commissioners also discussed seniors programming: the subgroup reduced the seniors subtotal from an initial $32,550 request to $27,550. Local organizations seeking support included Eastside Friends of Seniors (transportation and social connection), dementia respite programs, a Golden Times program for adults 55+, Meals on Wheels, and volunteer transportation operated by Sound Generations. Commissioners suggested the city better promote volunteer opportunities among grantees to expand capacity.

What’s next: staff will follow up with applicants on key open questions (notably Youth Eastside Services’ acceptance of partial funding and the location and scope of counselor work). The commission will continue grant reviews on June 17 (culturally responsive and domestic‑violence grants) and plans to finalize funding recommendations in July before forwarding them to the council in September.