Each January, Poverty Awareness Month invites us to reflect on the realities faced by people experiencing economic hardship, and to celebrate the ways communities come together to provide meaningful support. At Timberland Regional Library (TRL), we take this time to highlight the resources available in our five-county region and the collaborative solutions that help build resilience and opportunity for all.
As we mentioned in last January’s blog, libraries often serve as lifelines in their communities, offering services well beyond something good to read. TRL provides:
- Early learning programs that support children’s development and remove barriers like late fines.
- Safe, welcoming spaces with free Wi-Fi and computers for job searches, applications, and benefits access.
- Technology assistance and access to online resources like LinkedIn Learning and career guidance materials.
- Anywhere Library mobile services that bring books and activities out into communities.
For people experiencing homelessness, unstable housing, or unemployment, the simple ability to stay warm, use restrooms, charge devices, and access information at the library is a critical resource. It's one of the many reasons libraries are often referred to as 'third places' in communities, a place open for all to come, relax, linger, and learn - no purchase required.
Jobs
Job seekers often need guidance to connect skills with real opportunity. In partnership with the Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council (PacMtn), TRL offers access to free virtual Career Pathway Workshops to help job seekers discover potential long-term, family-wage careers in six high-demand industries. WorkSource Washington, part of the American Job Center network, hosts free in-person drop-in job and career assistance with WorkSource staff at several TRL locations in multiple counties. Employment is a key piece of economic stability, and the library’s work with these partners makes the path from job seeker to employed person more accessible and supported.
Legal Help
Legal issues, whether related to housing, family law, or discrimination, can be especially daunting for people without or with limited resources. Sound Legal Aid serves people across Thurston, Mason, Lewis, Pacific, and Grays Harbor counties with free civil legal services. In Timberland libraries in each of those counties, folks needing help can access Sound Legal Aid’s 24/7 online intake form to get started working with the organization. With a library card (free to all who work, live, or go to school in the five counties), the public can access thousands of state-specific free legal forms through Gale Legal Forms, and make use of full-text legal reference books written in plain language from Legal Information Source.
The Library Comes to You
Not everyone can get to a library location. Services providing basic needs like food, shelter, and healthcare may have limited hours. To reach as many community members as possible, TRL programming staff and Anywhere Library visit Food Bank locations, day shelters, and a variety of other non-profit locations serving people in need.
The Rochester Organization of Families (ROOF) offers food resources, family programs, and support services, and they were one of the very first to partner with TRL to host an Anywhere Library stop. TRL brings books, Spanish-language materials, STEAM activities, and staff support directly to ROOF’s Kids’ Place, helping children and parents engage with literacy and learning alongside essential services.
Staff from the Lacey Timberland Library do twice-monthly visits to Maple Court Enhanced Shelter, a former hotel site offering heated furnished rooms for unhoused people through the Low Income Housing Institute and City of Lacey. TRL sets up in the lobby and registers people for library cards, shares information on library resources, engages residents in simple craft activities, and provides access to books through a TRL Explore box, filled with discarded or donated books that residents are encourage to use freely.
Food banks these days are busier than ever. Anywhere Library visits the Bay Center Food Bank in Pacific County, the Good Shepherd Food Bank in Thurston County, and the Faith Lutheran Church Food Bank in Mason county so that community members can borrow books, pick up holds, find out about library services, and even get their first library card while getting their food needs met.
Everyone deserves equitable access to resources, knowledge, and opportunity, no matter where they’re starting from. What one organization may struggle to do alone, many organizations can accomplish together. This is why TRL collaborates with community partners to expand services and reach people wherever they are in life.
Visit your local TRL branch or browse our website to learn more about services, events, and partnerships that support economic well-being throughout our region.
Kid-friendly stories that build empathy and understanding by exploring poverty, kindness, and helping others during National Poverty Awareness Month.
Thought-provoking teen reads that explore poverty and inequality, encouraging empathy and awareness during National Poverty Awareness Month.
Adult reads exploring poverty and inequality in the United States in honor of National Poverty Awareness Month.
