Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation reports growth in school mental-health services and senior meals

Tammy Verhus, interim executive director of the Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation, told the Eden Plus City Council on July 13 that the organization has expanded mental-health programming in local schools and increased its senior hot-meals service.

"Our mental health program has grown immensely," Verhus said during a short presentation. She reported the foundation has served a total of 82 students: 62 at Enumclaw High School, 9 at Enumclaw Middle School and 11 at Thunder Mountain. Verhus said six students have "graduated from therapy," and presented comparative incident data she described as an improvement (from an average of 0.69 to 1.016), which she characterized as a 32% improvement in behavioral incident metrics.

Verhus also summarized the foundation's senior hot-meals program: "We currently have 66 seniors, 80 plus served year to date," she said, adding the program delivers six meals weekly via three deliveries and prepares about 400 meals per week with roughly 87 volunteers handling shopping, prep and delivery.

Why it matters: The foundation's school-based mental-health services and senior-meal operations provide direct services to residents and rely on volunteer and city support. Council members thanked the foundation and had no follow-up questions during the meeting.

Background and next steps: Verhus said the foundation is searching for a permanent executive director after the departure of the prior director, and encouraged council and staff to contact Sarah Stratton or foundation representatives with questions.