Officials from Public Health – Seattle and King County, and the Communities Count organization will share highlights from the recently updated Communities Count report at an educational forum on March 25, 4-6 p.m., Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave. N.E.

The free program, sponsored by the Eastside Human Services Forum, is open to East King County community leaders, human services providers and the general public.  The event includes a question-and-answer session following the presentation, time for networking and refreshments.

The 2008 Communities Count report, released in December, is the fourth update since the Communities Count Initiative was launched in 2000 to track regional trends that affect the health and well-being of King County’s communities and families.  The report uses 38 indicators to gauge the social, health, environmental and cultural condition of the region, and compares disparities by city, neighborhood, race, income, education, age and gender.

New in the 2008 report is an in-depth look at the trade-offs King County households have had to make in balancing affordable housing, transportation and quality of life.  The full report is available at www.communitiescount.org/.

Highlights of the 2008 Communities Count findings include:

The majority of King County residents reported good quality in many aspects of life, including involvement in arts and culture, perception of neighborhood safety, and neighborhood social cohesion.

King County is making progress in many areas, including rates of violent crime and auto theft, motor vehicle accidents, adult smoking rates, commute habits, and water conservation.

But in basic ways, many challenges still exist. For example, the number of uninsured people remains high, many families are not earning a living wage, the percent of children living in poverty has increased, housing costs continue to rise, and obesity rates have nearly doubled in the past decade. Meanwhile, countywide, the health of the environment continued to be threatened as more forested areas gave way to urban sprawl

Inequities persist.  There are differences among many of the key indicators according to race/ethnicity, income level, education, age and gender.

More information is available from Debbie Lacy, Coordinator, Eastside Human Services Forum at ebbie_Lacy@comcast.net or 425-587-3324.