I’m out of town, so you’ll have to forgive me for only just getting to this, but the Cascade People’s Center is in big trouble–the city is planning to not renew their funding for 2008, and without it they’ll have to close in December.

Cascade People’s Center is in South Lake Union, and it has after school programs and language classes and provide family support, and it’s a terribly overlooked place.

The Cascade People’s Center is a truly a place for the people. Ten years ago, community members rallied to save the building from being torn down and to create a community center focused on family support and environmental sustainability, and also to create a p-patch and the Garden of Happiness. Today, we are stronger than ever with over 6,000 Center users and a over 70% of the work done by volunteers. We have an eco-renovation of our building in the works as well as a proposed community compost project, proposed farmer’s market, and amazing youth and family programs already flourishing. With the Cascade neighborhood drastically changing among the South Lake Union development, the Center is a place of consistency and familiarity for thousands of low income and transitioning families who are being pushed out of their neighborhood. Not only are we a family and community support center, but we also stand for social and environmental justice in a neighborhood where the underdogs are constantly being silenced.

Tomorrow from 6-9 there will be a community brainstorming session at CPC–they’ve got 10 days to appeal the decision, and after that they’ll have to find alternate funding to keep going.