West African Community Council

Since 2010, the West African Community Council (WACC) has been helping immigrants and refugees from West Africa to thrive in the Puget Sound region. We serve over 4,000 individuals each year through a range of programs including a multilingual preschool, ParentChild+ program, Family Preservation Services, Immigration Legal Services, Labor Standards Outreach, a Parent/Caregiver Support, family counseling, information and referral, and case management. We also provide a wide range of informal services to meet our constituents’ needs including housing advocacy, financial assistance and counseling, and food assistance. We primarily serve West Africans living in King County. Our clients are overwhelmingly low-income, limited-English speakers. The majority are Muslim, and many are undocumented. We have offices in the Rainier Valley and Kent.

During the current Coronavirus outbreak, our constituents are coming to us as a trusted source during a time of uncertainty, anxiety and tremendous need. Our constituents are struggling to find out what they need to know to keep their families safe and deal with the economic devastation the pandemic is causing in an environment filled with misinformation. This is especially difficult for our many constituents who are non-native English speakers. To date, over 200 families have reached out to WACC for financial assistance toward rent, healthcare, lost income replacement, utilities, transportation, food, childcare and more.