It's never too late to help

The route to success is full of pitfalls.

Nina Auerbach's job is to set little kids on a course that will avoid those pitfalls, while Al Sugiyama catches teens and adults who trip and tries to get them back on course.

Auerbach is the CEO of a group that focuses on giving every child the best possible start in life.

Sugiyama is the executive director of an agency that helps young people and adults complete their education and improve their ability to find better careers.

If I were a bit more optimistic, I might expect to see a day when Auerbach's work would eliminate the need for most of Sugiyama's programs.

That's not likely to happen anytime soon, if ever.

There are people at every stage of life who need a hand from the community. I'm hopeful that we're starting to see that we all reap benefits when more people do better, and that we're getting smarter about how we help people.

I visited with Auerbach and Sugiyama on Tuesday, and each of them talked about how their programs have evolved.

Auerbach said Child Care Resources started 18 years ago, focused on the need for safe, affordable and competent day care.

It still trains day-care workers and provides information for parents. But it has also taken to heart recent research that shows how critical the years between birth and age 5 are to brain development.

It helps parents and other caregivers guide the social, emotional and intellectual development of children.

Auerbach's office is in a building on the edge of the Chinatown International District and within walking distance of Sugiyama's building on Rainier Avenue South.

Sugiyama sees kids who are struggling in school; immigrants trying to navigate a foreign culture; young people who've dropped out, fallen into drugs or done time. They need everything from math and English help to etiquette training.

He started the Center for Career Alternatives in 1979 as a career-counseling agency because he saw too many of the poor children he grew up with fail to prosper. CCA has grown to 21 programs.

In one classroom Tuesday, high-school students were attending classes to help them get caught up and to increase their chances of going on to college. That used to be just a summer program, but to be more effective it has become year-round.

In another room a counselor told a young man, "I won't lie, a felony conviction is going to make it hard for you to get a job."

The young man has been out of work for several weeks and apartment owners keep turning him down. And he has to take time for weekly drug tests as part of his probation.

Maybe, if he'd had help earlier, he'd be in college now, but a job at least would make his other problems easier to deal with and maybe help him stay straight.

It's never too early or too late to improve a life. Early intervention has the biggest payoff, but no one should be written off.

By chance, CCA is next door to a recycling business.

Most of us know paper and glass are too valuable to waste. So is human potential.

Jerry Large's column appears Monday and Thursday. Reach him at 206-464-3346 or jlarge@seattletimes.com.