Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation reports growth in school mental-health services and senior meals

Tammy Verhus, interim executive director of the Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation, told the council the foundation’s school-based mental-health program has grown and is now serving 82 students across local schools. "We have served a total of 82 students," she said, adding that "we have 62 at Enumclaw High School, 9 at Enumclaw Middle School, and 11 at Thunder Mountain." Verhus said six Enumclaw High School students "graduated from therapy," and characterized the shift in behavioral-incident rates as an improvement: the program’s average incident rate rose from 0.69 to 1.016 in 2025–26, which she described as a "32% improvement in number of behavioral incidents."

The foundation also reviewed its senior hot-meals program. Verhus said the program currently serves about 66 seniors, has served "80 plus year to date," prepares roughly 400 cooked meals each week and makes three deliveries that provide six meals per week to participating seniors. "We have about 87 current volunteers," she said, thanking the city for past support and asking for continued partnership.

Why it matters: school-based mental-health services and home-delivered meals are part of the city’s safety-net and community-services ecosystem. City funding, facility access and volunteer support affect program capacity and the continuity of services for students and older residents.

Details lawmakers heard: Verhus said the foundation contracts for counseling days at local schools (three days a week at Enumclaw Middle School and two days at Thunder Mountain), and noted staff turnover earlier in the year that delayed placement of a school counselor until January. She framed modest academic gains alongside reductions in classroom disruptions, saying, "The average GPA among our 2025–26 students is a slight increase" (she quantified the rise as about 1.25%).

Next steps and contacts: Verhus encouraged council members and staff to direct questions to the foundation and to its former director Sarah Stratton (mentioned as having left) or to foundation staff for program details.