The Coalition hosted another lively and informative General Membership Meeting on Thursday, October 17th at Southside Commons in Columbia City. The energy in the room was palpable as over 50 direct service providers and community advocates came together to help us shape the future of our organization, and to provide insight in the ongoing work we are all engaged in. At our meeting Coalition members provided input on a discussion of the Coalition’s Mission statement, as well as our Vision and Values that are currently being developed. The thoughtful responses and pointed questions were an important reminder of the collective knowledge our members bring to this work – Thank You. Participants also provided valuable input to the Corporation for Supportive Housing to aid their efforts in developing and refining the details of our Regional Action Plan.
Take Action Now: Ask Seattle City Councilmembers to support the Home for Good. The Home for Good program was developed with members and partners of the Coalition, and the proposal is being sponsored by Councilmembers Lorena González and Lisa Herbold. Home for Good will provide a shallow rent subsidy to help people with disabilities who are transitioning from state assistance (primarily through Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) and Aged, Blind, and Disabled (ABD) to federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to prevent people from falling back into homelessness. Read David Kroman’s most recent Crosscut article about the proposal and use this link to Take Action Now and ask councilmembers to include this important program in the City’s budget. We see this as a real opportunity and need YOUR support to get as many supportive messages to councilmembers as possible.
At our meeting we were joined by Julissa Sanchez, South King County organizer with The Tenants Union of Washington who shared the recent Just Cause victory out of Burien. The City of Burien passed historic Just Cause legislation on Monday, October 7th thanks to tireless organizing work from the Tenants Union and renter advocacy organizations. Hear in Julissa’s words how this fight was won, and check out this handout for more information on how to bring the fight for Just Cause to your community.
Check out some other resources we discussed at our meeting, along with an update on our Voter Registration and Education work ahead of the November 5th General Election.
- Kelsey Mesher with the Transportation Choices Coalition gave us a brief explainer on why the Coalition believes voting No on I-976 is so important to the communities we serve. Slashing billions of dollars meant for needed transportation improvements does not serve our community well, check out the campaign on Facebook for more information
- Thank you to Debbie Thiele from the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) who led us in a follow up conversation on the continued formation of the Regional Action Plan (RAP). If you have other thoughts to share with Debbie, please email her at debbie.thiele@csh.org (feel free to cc’ Alison@homelessinfo.org so we can track what people are sharing as well).
- The Coalition shared an alert from King County Public Health regarding a recent spike in fentanyl laced street drugs, both in powder and pressed pill form. Public Health wants to spread the word as far and wide as possible, they are making color printed copies of this information available free of charge to agencies who wish to distribute materials. Request free materials here.
Voter Registration & Work for Tuesday, November 5 General Election
- Click here to see our Voter Registration Guide for homeless and unstably housed voters (online and downloadable versions).
- Want to do voter work at your site? Email Hillary for more information and other materials! We want to help you and to know how many folks you help vote.
- DEADLINES:
- Monday,
October 28 – deadline to register to vote online (state ID needed) or have
paper registration form received by elections (can use SSN)
- Note: if you will be mailing paper registration forms, please mail by Thursday 10/24 to insure that they will arrive to elections on time
- If you will be turning in forms for people you work with, turn in within 5 days of them being signed to a vote center. You should also use this cover form. Then let Hillary know how many folks you helped register.
- Tuesday, November 5 – election day and deadline to register to vote in-person at a vote center (see info!).
- Monday,
October 28 – deadline to register to vote online (state ID needed) or have
paper registration form received by elections (can use SSN)
- Information for people with felony convictions – as long as someone is no longer reporting to DOC they can vote.