Essential Work, Essential Workers
Participants in our “Essential Work, Essential Workers” roundtable. We gathered in the lobby of The North Star, beautiful new supportive housing in Seattle’s Bitter Lake neighborhood, now home to 100 residents. A Conversation with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal & Representative Nicole Macri Outside, the rain poured down. Inside the airy lobby of a beautiful new apartment building, essential workers in housing and homeless services talked with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal about their experiences helping people get home, and stay in their homes. We hosted this event last week while construction crews put finishing touches on The North Star: new homes and services for 100 people created by DESC (key funding from King County’s Health through Housing Initiative, which we proudly worked to pass). Coalition staff brought a modest addition as teams got each apartment ready for residents to move in four days later ~ a personal welcome note, a voter registration form, and a box of tea. Frontline workers spoke movingly about working with youth, families, and adults in shelter, rapid rehousing, and supportive housing at different agencies. They shared ideas, hopes, and fears from co-workers and people they serve. Their stories made plain how the pandemic has exacerbated workforce issues that were already serious — years of suppressed wages and high staff turnover that affect quality and continuity of care — and now threaten our collective ability to sustain and scale up solutions. An experienced residential specialist, explained how a temporary “Pandemic Pay” boost meant for the first time in 20 years she could make rent and meet her household’s other needs without having to work multiple jobs. Another worker choked up as she described asking her teenage son to set aside his schooling to earn money to help with family expenses, even as she worked full-time to help other parents and …