Catholic Community Services Family Behavioral Health recently brought home a major award. Sponsored by Catholic Community Services of Western Washington.
SEATTLE — A local nonprofit is celebrating a major honor after being recognized for its impact on families across Washington.
Family Behavioral Health at Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, known for helping feed, house, and provide behavioral health support to tens of thousands of people statewide, recently received Washington State University’s Employer of the Year Award for 2026. New Day’s Kelly Hanson met with the team as they brought the award home to Western Washington.
“We are really excited about this. It was a total surprise. I opened an email one day and it said from WSU saying, ‘we would like to honor you with the employer of the year award for 2026,’” said Mary Stone-Smith vice president of Family Behavioral Health for Catholic Community Services.
The award was presented as part of the recognition for Washington State University’s National Student Employment Week.
“It was part of our Student Employee of the year ceremony, students are recognized by their supervisors and team members in areas such as critical thinking, community technology, social impact, and belonging and leadership. And honestly, that really just aligns with the theme of family behavioral health and so it’s just exciting to be able to recognize them,” said Amy Tejeda Lunn WSU Employer Relations Manager.
Their approach is unique – services are provided directly in the homes of children, youth and families. They make house calls and meet with families where they are often, in situations where young people are experiencing significant challenges including mental health concerns and behavioral health issues.
“We work with the family in a pretty intensive way and look at how we can help the family get on a different trajectory,” said Stone-Smith. “It is pretty amazing work. Our staff are phenomenal. This is such a different way of working with families, and when we focus on those areas, things really begin to blossom.”
At Catholic Community Services every employee is passionate about the work they do, not just the accolades they get.
“We care about keeping families together. We believe that children need their families. Families need their children. It can be any kind of family, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s always the immediate family that a child was born into,” Stone-Smith said.
For Nate Todd, Site Director for Family Behavioral Health at Catholic Community Services, working with so many different families in the community makes the work they do even more fulfilling.
“We serve in the community and get to see change happen or see families recognizing themselves what they already have. And that’s just an amazing piece that I think everyone should know, and that also lets people see that it’s okay to be who you are and put that into your daily life.”
Their commitment to helping the community at large is what really set them apart from other organizations.
“They are really dialed in,” Tejeda said. “They come to campus with us and participate in things, not because they’re just looking to recruit students, which is of course always amazing, but also specifically they dial in on really wanting to help students be successful.”
To learn more about Family Behavioral Health at Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, just visit ccsww.org
Sponsored by Catholic Community Services of Western Washington.