This recession has affected so many families, children, and communities in Washington state. People are struggling to find work, and get the support they need to get back on their feet.

For many years my family experienced similar struggles.

In 1974, my mother brought three young children, ages 3, 6, and 8, from a small town in Taiwan to begin new lives in Seattle, Washington. My father—an agricultural specialist with the Taiwanese government—had arrived the previous year and immediately began work as a dishwasher at a friend’s Chinese restaurant in Seattle Center’s Food Court. My mother—a delivery room nurse in a provincial hospital—first enrolled in ESL and vocational education programs, and gradually worked her way to an associate degree through the Seattle Community College.

More than 30 years later, my 67-year-old mother was the oldest Bachelor of Arts graduate from the University of Washington (Bothell).

Our immigrant story is not a unique one. My parents chose to leave their families and the relative stability of their home country for the promise of better educational opportunities for me and my two older brothers. Throughout the years, they struggled financially and had to negotiate complicated educational, legal, health, and public support systems with limited English skills.

Things got better over the years with help from extended family or friends, but most of the time they managed on their own and with occasional translation support from my middle and high school-aged brothers. One of my fondest memories is of watching VHS-recorded episodes of Judge Wapner on The People’s Court with my father, who believed that as foreigners to this country, it was important to understand our basic rights.

We got through the transition because we had a strong family and social networks. Not all people experience this, but the City of Seattle and State of Washington are working together to make it just a little easier for everyone to get support.

This week, the City of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services celebrated a partnership that will improve the delivery of public benefits for low-income individuals and families.

Washington Connection is the nation’s first web-based portal to integrate city and state-administered public benefits and services into one screening and application system and is an important step toward building a comprehensive “one-stop” access point for multiple programs.

I am filled with hope for those who are now able to quickly and accurately access the basic supports needed to stabilize their lives, and ultimately head down a path toward financial self-sufficiency. Individuals and families can access Washington Connection in the privacy of their own homes or rely on trusted staff from community based organizations across the state, many that can provide culturally and linguistically competent services such as Afrique Service Center, El Centro de la Raza, Asian Counseling and Referral Services, and Neighborhood House.

During the past few years, the Gates Foundation’s Pacific Northwest Director David Bley and I have had the opportunity to work closely with many public and private partners through the statewide Washington Connection Benefit Portal Partnership Project. We expect that our investments with the State and the City of Seattle will pave the way for other city benefits to become integrated into the state system. Planning efforts have already launched with the Tacoma-Lakewood-Pierce County governments led by United Way of Pierce County, as well as a community-based effort by Community-Minded Enterprises in Spokane.

For Washington Connection to achieve its full potential as a comprehensive resource for families across the state, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will continue to rely on our government partners, other funders, and community champions such as Wellspring Family Services, WithinReach, Building Changes, South Sound Outreach Services, Associated Ministries, Washington Food Coalition, Chief Seattle Club, and the Statewide Poverty Action Network.