Evie Boykan feels that it is an honor to direct people in need to resources in the community. She is the City of Tukwila’s human services manager, with the division for 20 years. Boykan is part of a two-person team that will offer seniors assistance in-person help locating resources for their social service needs at the Tukwila Community Center.
It’s called the “Help Us, Help You” program. She and Stacy Hanson will be available the fourth Wednesday of the month to meet with seniors at the center, by appointment.
“It’s been 20 years and boy have I learned a lot, not only about the community, but about the whole range of social services,” said Boykan. “So I consider myself a generalist, where I know a little about a lot of different areas.”
Because people who need social services come to the City of Tukwila through many different doors – be it the finance, police or recreation departments – administration chose to locate human services within the Tukwila Mayor’s Office.
Boykan and Hanson assist the general population on a regular basis with accessing social services like minor home repairs and resources offered through community non-profits.
“I would say that I am privileged to hear people’s stories even though a lot of times they’re coming from a place of need,” said Boykan. “To me, it’s a very personal relationship and I feel honored to be able to serve in that way.”
Because some seniors might find it difficult to get to the human services office, staff decided to go to them starting this year. The goal of the program is just to help seniors access social and health services information.
“I may not always meet a person’s needs, but I can give them the time and listen and validate and acknowledge what’s going on and point them to some resources,” said Boykan. “That gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
