Alison Eisinger

A recording of one of our July 2021 Voter Registration & Voting Rights Trainings. Event Summary The Coalition on Homelessness is invested in ensuring every eligible voter knows their voting rights and has the resources they need to vote, regardless of housing status or history with the criminal legal system. Many people experiencing homelessness and people impacted by the criminal legal system are eligible to vote in Washington. This training is for direct service providers or dedicated volunteers at housing and homelessness service sites interested in incorporating voter registration work into the services they offer. We discuss who is eligible in 2021, who will become eligible once our voting rights change in 2022, dates and deadlines for the upcoming August 3rd Primary Election and November 2nd General Election, as well as specific tips for helping people experiencing homelessness register to vote. Please take this voter registration planning survey to let us know what your needs are and how we can support you. Resources Referenced – Click here to view a copy of the slides from this training How to register to vote There are three ways to register to vote in Washington: Online: https://voter.votewa.gov/WhereToVote.aspx. Notes: Requires a current Washington Driver’s License or ID. Deadline: 8 days before the election. Mail: Fill out a voter registration form and mail it to the voter’s local county elections office. Notes: Does not require ID or license, but can use last 4 of social security number. Deadline: must be received by elections office by 5 p.m. on Monday 7/26 for the August 3rd Primary or Monday 10/25 for the November 2nd General Election. In-Person at a Vote Center (which open the weekend before the election) or the King County Elections office in Renton. Notes: Does not require ID or license, but can use last …

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State Legislative Highlights During our May Annual Meeting, we were unable to fully highlight all of the amazing victories during the 2021 legislative session. We’ll be joined by Representative Strom Peterson to discuss HB 1220, which will change how jurisdictions all over the state plan for growth and ensure that they plan for a range of housing needs– including emergency housing, supportive housing, and more. We’ll discuss the steps forward to more inclusive planning. Omar Cuevas-Vega from Statewide Poverty Action Network provided updates on all the changes to state public benefits from the 2021 legislative session. This will include updates regarding Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Housing and Essential Needs (HEN), Disaster Cash Assistance (DCAP), and more. See Omar’s slidedeck here. Solidarity Fund The Coalition created the Solidarity Fund in the Spring of 2020 as a rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the clear and disproportionate threats of this crisis to people experiencing homelessness.  The Coalition will be giving an update on the reopening of the application, the timeline and process. Read more information about the Solidarity Fund here. The application closes on July 15, 2021. Coalition Updates Voter Registration & Voting Rights: See Saleena’s slidedeck here. With the August 3rd primary approaching, we’ll give you some background information on dates and deadlines, a refresher on how to register people without homes to vote, and get your feedback on how we can support you in getting every eligible voter in your site registered to vote. We’ll also take a look at upcoming changes to voting rights for people who were formerly incarcerated, and what you can do to help spread the word about these changes. Take the voter registration planning survey here. Project Cool for Back-to-School: Each year, the Coalition helps homeless and unstably housed students prepare for …

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6/1/2021 Hello SKC Forum Attendees! I am looking forward to seeing you next week for our monthly SKC Forum on Homelessness meeting! As a reminder, we will be meeting on Wednesday, June 2 from 9-10:30 on Zoom. During the meeting, we’ll hear some exciting updates from the South King Housing and Homelessness Partners staff. Formalized in 2019, South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP) is the first-ever affordable housing collaborative of local governments in the South King County subregion. SKHHP’s mission is to increase housing stability in South King County by producing and preserving affordable housing by working together and sharing resources across the jurisdictions through a coordinated and comprehensive approach. SKHHP will be present an overview of their work along with information about their newly formed Advisory Board and how you can get involved!  We will also hear Coalition Updates from the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, as well as information about King County’s Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program.  As always, there will be time for sharing program updates and community resources, so please come prepared with any updates or resource questions you may have. Thanks, and hope to see you on Wednesday! – Jason

We debriefed the recently wrapped up state legislative session, discussed policy wins and next steps in implementation with Representative Tarra Simmons, Representative Nicole Macri, & Senator Patty Kuderer. We were joined by our newest team member Sara Robbins who will preview an upcoming Coalition public benefits training series to help you navigate new and expanded state and federal assistance programs. You got a chance to meet our new prospective Board of Director candidates and find out how your organization can become a Coalition member to be eligible to cast a vote in our Board election. We reflected on the past year of our collective work and express our thanks to meeting attendees with a small token of appreciation. Our meeting closed with the joy and healing powers of music from special guest musical performance from the one and only Reggie Garrett Read on for details, and If you find this content useful to you in your role as a service provider, please sign up for our Homeless Service and Housing Network email list. Statewide Legislative Advocacy Debrief The state legislative session has ended. Thank you all for speaking up during this state legislative session. Your advocacy helped us pass laws that will house ~1,600 people experiencing or at risk chronic homelessness in King County (HB 1070, which ensures the count can purchase properties to implement their Health through Housing initiative). You have also helped us pass laws that prevent homelessness and strengthen tenant protections (HB 1277, SB 5160, HB 1236). Other wins include more inclusive zoning laws that ensure cities can’t ban shelter or supportive housing (HB 1220), and voting rights restoration to people on community custody (HB 1078). We will highlight these wins and more on Thursday. Public Benefits Training Series Click here to take our Public Benefit Training …

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Event Summary Economic Impact Payments, more commonly known as stimulus checks, have been a lifeline for countless Americans struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.  Millions of Americas have struggled to claim their Economic Impact Payments, particularly people experiencing homelessness (check out this article in the Seattle Times for details). Those who have not yet claimed some or all their stimulus funds can still claim their benefit by filing a 2020 tax return. The Coalition on Homelessness, in partnership with United Way of King County, created these training materials to help case managers and mutual aid volunteers help people experiencing homelessness file their taxes, with an eye towards ensuring that stimulus payments get to those who need them. Presentation materials below: Workshop Presentation Slides: My Free Taxes, Get My Refund and Coalition on Homelessness Tax Prep Documents to Prepare in Advance Tips for Using Community Mail Programs Additional Forms: 3911 Check Trace Request, ITIN Application, and Supplemental Questionnaire for service providers. Stimulus Check Advocacy Follow Up: Community Mail programs (and they clients they serve) have reported issues with receiving stimulus checks from the IRS. We believe these addresses have been flagged due to fraud concerns. After collecting extensive feedback from clients and staff at our member organizations, we brought our concerns to our allies in the Federal government in hopes of reaching a solution. Thanks to feedback from our members, the IRS will be re-issuing stimulus checks to countless unhoused folks in King County. On Friday May 7, the IRS agreed to remove the address suspicion flag from the addresses we reported having issues, and have agreed to re-issue all retuned paper stimulus checks to clients at these locations. Payments will be re-issued within the next 3-4 weeks, we encourage you to follow up in mid-June to confirm payments were received. This …

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We were joined by homeless outreach workers and tax filing experts to discuss efforts to help people experiencing homelessness claim their Economic Impact Payments (AKA stimulus checks). We celebrated several key victories related to voting access, housing, and homelessness. With less than two weeks left in the state legislative session, we highlighted some key policy and budget priorities need your continued advocacy. We rounded out the meeting with timely resource updates, including an upcoming increase in SNAP benefits, tips on how to host a vaccine clinic, and an important community survey for nonprofit direct service staff. Read on for details, and sign up for our Coalition emails to get regular updates. Increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Thanks to additional funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the maximum amount a SNAP eligible household can receive will increase by 15% starting in April. This is in addition to the supplemental additional funding DSHS has provided since the onset of COVID-19, click here for details. These changes apply to all SNAP recipients, meaning that those receiving SNAP who may have previously only qualified for a small amount are eligible for much more assistance than before. If you are working with a SNAP eligible client who chose not to recertify due to how small of a benefit they were eligible to claim, please encourage them to re-apply to claim this resource. For more information see this flyer.  If you have questions about this or need assistance in starting an EBT application, call the Family Food Hotline at 1-888-436-6392 or visit their website www.Wafoodhelp.org. If you would like to request flyers or additional materials for your program, please contact Nelly Evans, Food Security Program Coordinator at United Way of King County.    Limited in-person services are available through …

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Meeting Agenda: 9am Welcome 9:10 Jody Rauch, HCHN Provider Engagement Events 9:20 Member Updates 9:30 Pandemic EBT 2.0 with Megan Veith of Building Changes 9:40 Coalition Legislative Advocacy Update 10:00 Vaccine Phase Announcement for Homeless Service Providers, Tara Bostock, WA Department of Health 10:10 Special Guest Patty Hayes, Director of Public Health Seattle – King County 10:20 Coalition Staff Updates Thank you for attending our March Membership Meeting. A special thank you to Tara Bostock with the Department of Health and Patty Hayes with Public Health Seattle – King County for helping us celebrate the news that staff and clients in congregate shelter programs have been prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine. Shelter staff are eligible now, with people experiencing homelessness eligible starting March 31. If you are a congregate shelter provider seeking a vaccine appointment: Go to the Washington Phase Finder. Answer Yes for “Are you considered a critical worker according to the Washington Critical Infrastructure Worker List” Then check “I work in the fire department, law enforcement, or as a social worker responding to a public health emergency”. DO NOT check “I work or volunteer in an enclosed space to provide services to and/or with people experiencing homelessness.” Once determined eligible, click here to find a vaccine clinic in your area. FOR PROVIDERS IN THE SEATTLE AREA: All vaccine eligible members of the public – including congregate shelter staff– can sign up now for the City’s vaccination appointment notification list. Once eligible members of the public sign up for the City’s notification list, they will receive an email notification when vaccination appointments become available at any of the City’s there fixed sites in Rainier Beach, West Seattle, and the Lumen Field Event Center. The notification list is available here, and residents can also contact the Customer Service Bureau at 206-684-2489 from Monday …

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