Children

Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 – August 19, 2026

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This training covers the following: Thank you to our presenters and co-facilitators from TeamChild. McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act – the basics >> Join SchoolHouse Connection’s Mailing List Virtual Resource Fair Lutheran Community Services Website: https://lcsnw.org/ Legal Counsel for Youth and Children Website: https://lcycwa.org/ Kids’ Mental Health Washington Website: https://kidsmentalhealthwa.org/ Team Child Website: https://www.teamchild.org/ Open Doors for Multicultural Families Website: https://opendoorswa.org/ Register for our next General Membership Meeting Thursday, September 17, 9-10:30 a.m., Zoom

General Membership Meeting – June 18, 2026

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For our June GMM, we learned about crisis care options in King County (including DESC’s Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team), Washington’s summer EBT program (SUN Bucks), and talked about federal impacts on our local system of housing and care. King County Crisis Care Washington’s SUN Bucks program Time to Take Action Protect HUD’s Equal Access Rule The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a rule change would remove protections for people to access shelter, housing and services that best fit their gender identity, instead making those resources contingent on matching biological sex. That would further marginalize trans, intersex, and nonbinary people who are already at extremely high risk of homelessness and dangerous situations while they are homeless. Leave a comment today in opposition to this rule change. Comments are due at 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 29. Sample comment below: I strongly oppose the proposed changes to the Equal Access Rule issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This proposal would remove critical protections that ensure fair and equal access to housing and services for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people. By stopping people from choosing services that align with their gender identity, forcing them into programs and services that do not meet their needs, and allowing providers to require proof of a person’s biological sex, this rule opens the door to discrimination, denial of services, and dangerous conditions for people seeking HUD-funded shelter, housing, and services. According to data from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, transgender people are more likely to be unsheltered than their cisgender peers, and those who are unsheltered have worse health and experience more dangerous conditions than those who are sheltered. More data is available at https://endhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Trans-Homelessness-Brief-July-2020.pdf. Instead of discriminating against trans, nonbinary and intersex people experiencing …

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Truth be told, advocacy works: How a five-year-old helped advance housing justice during the 2026 legislative session

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On Monday, January 26, 2026, a five-and-a-half-year-old named Truth visited the state capitol for the first time with her mother, Danisha. The two made the trip to Housing & Homelessness Advocacy Day (HHAD) on the Coalition’s Nancy Amidei Advocacy Express bus. “I just got word and jumped on the bus,” Danisha said when we met for coffee two weeks after our visit to Olympia. Danisha has been subscribed to Coalition emails for years. She’s worked in social services for the past decade and is currently a graduate student at the UW School of Social Work. She’s been a shelter counselor at DESC and Compass Housing Alliance and a housing advocate—helping people find housing, navigate resources, and communicate with landlords—at Neighborhood House, all Coalition member organizations. While working to find stability for others in our regional system of housing and care, Danisha said she was always one check away from being in shelters herself. “We’ve been through the ringer with housing,” Danisha said. She and her family went through the shelter system when Danisha was young. By age 13, Danisha had lost both her parents and was living with relatives. She never had a formal guardianship and was unable to access any of the foster care resources for kids who age out. “I just kind of turned 18 and just kept going in life,” she said. Right now, Danisha pays $2,150 in housing expenses for a two-bedroom apartment in Seattle for her and Truth. “It’s not even one of these new ones where you have a gym, and a roof top, and a little grill,” she said. Eight years ago, Danisha lived with her two siblings in a five-bedroom house with two bathrooms, a front yard, and a backyard. They paid $2,150 in rent. The house was in the same ZIP …

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General Membership Meeting – March 19, 2026

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For our March 19 General Membership Meeting, we were joined by folks at Northwest Health Law Associates (NoHLA) and Community Health Plan of WA (CHPW) to hear about the impacts to Medicaid under HR1. We also heard a brief legislative recap from our Community Policy Manager Hali Willis, took action on some proposed rules at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and learned about the Coalition’s efforts to prepare service providers in the stadium district for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected. Changes to Medicaid Under HR1 Jump to 07:18 in the recording to hear this presentation. Read about the statewide impacts of HR1 from the Washington State Office of Financial Management here: https://ofm.wa.gov/budget/resources/h-r-1-impacts-on-washington-state-people-and-budget/#section-health-care-medicaid-enrollee-impacts Key dates: Oct 1, 2026: HR1 Eliminates Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) eligibility for certain lawfully present immigration status’ (refugees, asylees, and other non-citizen adults). COFA migrants, Cuban/Haitian entrants and lawful permanent residents will still remain eligible. Dec 31, 2026: Work requirements go into effect for Medicaid expansion adults (adults age 19-64, up to 138% of the Federal Poverty Level) unless they qualify for an exemption.  Work requirements under HR1 impact Medicaid Expansion clients. If your coverage is labeled as any of the following, it is not Medicaid Expansion: • Pregnancy Medicaid • Parent/Caretaker Medicaid • Aged, Blind, Disabled (ABD) Medicaid • SSI-related Medicaid • Medicare Savings Program • Long-term care Medicaid • CHIP (for children) Generally “work requirements” and “community engagement requirements” are used interchangeably with “community engagement” being the formal phrase in the bill. The requirements can be met by working sufficient hours but also by volunteering, school, etc. …

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The Coalition Current: December 2025

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Kids helping kids succeed Crystal has eight-year-old triplets. “Which is an adventure.” Crystal’s family—her three triplets, Noah and Carter and Simone, and her husband, Dominic—volunteered for Project Cool for the first time this year. Crystal knew about the Coalition thanks to her work. She’s an Endowed Associate Professor at the UW’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. Now that their children are old enough, Crystal and her husband were looking for kid-friendly volunteer opportunities to get their whole family engaged with their community. They adopted a street about a year ago and do neighborhood cleanups every month or so. She heard about Project Cool from a friend who has been trying to find ways for people to engage and educate themselves, “and do what we can” in this time of federal upheavals, Crystal explained. Project Cool was a great opportunity for their family, Crystal said. She talked to her kids about who gets the backpacks and why they need them. She explained that they were going to be helping other kids. “Kids that are like them.” Homelessness has come up with her children before, Crystal said. “Just being out in the world,” she said, “we all see that a lot.” When people were living in tents next to the triplets’ preschool, Crystal and Dominic would talk to them about what theysaw on their walk to school. One of the kids thought the people were camping. Crystal and her husband explained: “It’s not what it’s like when we go camping.” For Crystal and her husband, Project Cool was a chance to say to their children: “This is a small thing that we can do to help in our community because we can’t help everyone. We can’t fix this problem on our own, but this is a way that we can …

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General Membership Meeting – November 20, 2025

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During our November meeting, we were joined by Poverty Action and Solid Ground to review and discuss upcoming changes to SNAP (starting Dec 1, 2025). We also talked about the recently announced changes to HUD that will impact our region and heard an inspiring presentation from DESC’s new ORCA Center. If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected. Dec 2025 Changes to SNAP Thank you to Lianna Kressin from Poverty Action and Patricia Bowen from Solid Ground for presenting on the changes coming to SNAP starting Monday, December 1. Jump to 00:7:49 to see this section of our meeting. HR1 & Federal Context On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the “Big Beautiful Bill” (HR1) into law. The impacts of this bill will go into effect over the next 5 years. Individuals will have an increased burden of “proof of need” to maintain eligibility for programs and states will be required to pay more to provide the same, or lower, benefits. Changes to SNAP are already taking place but impacts will roll out over time. Even though new work requirements start Dec 1, 2025, there are still many unanswered questions from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Work Requirements New work requirements—expected to be about 20 hours per week—start Monday, December 1, 2025. More than 100,000 people are expected to be impacted by new work requirements with 57,000 Washingtonians losing some of their food assistance. The following groups will have new work requirements: People with “verified” disability status will remain exempt from work requirements. Jump to 00:34:40 to hear more about disability status. Immigrant Eligibility Changes to SNAP eligibility that will impact immigrants started July 4, 2025. …

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Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 – August 21, 2025

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Our Helping Homeless Students 2025 training included an overview of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, how to access rights and services granted by that law, how to locate a McKinney-Vento liaison, and a virtual resource fair featuring service providers in King County that specifically serve students and families. Thank you to Kayla Blau for presenting this training. Kayla is the Strategic Advisor of Housing and Education at Building Changes. She has more than 15 years of experience working with youth that have experienced complex trauma in King County. An Overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act Educational Rights The main purpose of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is to protect the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness so that they have the same level of academic support as their housed peers. Rights of students under McKinney-Vento include: A student’s “school or origin” is the school they were attending before they became homeless. For example, if a student was attending school in Issaquah and then they and their family moved to a shelter in Seattle, the student’s school of origin is their school in Issaquah. Continuing their education at their school of origin is important for a student’s academic success and social-emotional development. Immediate enrollment means a student has the right to enroll in a school “without delay” even if: Appropriate and adequate transportation to the student’s school of origin can look like many things. It doesn’t necessarily mean a school bus. It can be transit passes, gas reimbursement for family members to drive a student to/from school, or using a service like HopSkipDrive. Ensuring a student can participate in the same programs as other students could look like waiving fees to participate in a science lab or a field trip. Eligibility Students are considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act …

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General Membership Meeting – July 17, 2025

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During our July 17 General Membership Meeting we shared some great program updates, heard from the Seattle Disabilities Commission, and learned resources for tenants in Washington from Kasey Burton of Catholic Community Services’ Tenant Law Center. If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected. Upcoming at the Coalition Welcome Meghan! The Coalition brought on a Summer Programs Associate, Meghan Piotrowski, to assist with our two big summer initiatives, Project Cool and voter registration. If anyone has a program they think would benefit through voter education and registration, please contact vote[at]homelessinfo[.]org to talk about scheduling a visit by the Coalition and our team of trained volunteers. If you’re looking for voter education resources, check out our webpage with our You Don’t Need a House to be a Voter guide.  Our Project Cool needs a few more helping hands for July 29 & July 30. These are days when program coordinators from our member orgs will come pick up their backpacks orders. All volunteer days are hosted at the Bryn Mawr Methodist Church (8016 S 116th St, Seattle, WA 98178): Sign up for a volunteer shift here and email contact[at]homelessinfo[.]org if you have any questions. Next up at the Coalition In place of our August General Membership Meeting, we are hosting a training on Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101 on Thursday, August 21. This two-hour training will provide case managers the tools they need to understand and use the federal McKinney Vento Assistance Act, which allows certain rights to students and families experiencing homelessness so they can maintain their public school education. If you or someone you know works with families experiencing homelessness, you can register for that …

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General Membership Meeting – June 12, 2025

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During our June 12 General Membership Meeting, we shared upcoming opportunities and trainings at the Coalition, heard from DSHS about Washington state’s summer EBT program for K-12 students (SUN Bucks), talked to the Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition about the recent state legislative session and federal threats to SNAP, met the Coalition’s Board of Directors new members, and shared ways our community is celebrating Juneteenth and Pride this month. If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected. Upcoming at the Coalition Support for K-12 students experiencing homelessness For more than 33 years, the Coalition on Homelessness has helped students and families prepare for the start of a new school year with new backpacks, school supplies, books, and dental hygiene supplies. This effort, our Project Cool for Back-to-School, will support 1,800 students in 2025. We are currently looking for volunteers to help us stuff and distribute backpacks in July. We would love to have you join us! All volunteer days are hosted at the Bryn Mawr Methodist Church (8016 S 116th St, Seattle, WA 98178): Sign up for a volunteer shift here and email projectcool[at]homelessinfo[.]org if you have any questions. The Coalition supports K-12 students experiencing homelessness year-round by providing a training on the educational rights of students in public schools as defined in the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act. This training is for any case manager or provider working with students and families experiencing homelessness. The training will cover: Sign up for this year’s Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101 training on Thursday, August 21 from 9-11 a.m. over Zoom. Please note that this training will take the place of our August General Membership …

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Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101 Info & Resource Session for Homeless Service Providers

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Thank you to everyone who attended our Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 Information and Resource Session on Thursday September 3. A huge thank you to Kayla Blau, Mehret Tekle-Awarun, Samie Iverson, Oliver Alexander-Adams, Karen Pillar, Sharonne Navas and Jessyca Murphy for sharing their knowledge and passion with us. We appreciate the lively conversation had in the chat box and out loud during the workshop. You can review some of the tools and resources discussed at the information session below. If you have questions or wish to provide additional materials to this collection, please email your questions to Jason. Read about Education Rights for Homeless and Unstably Housed Students, which includes our updated 2020-2021 King County McKinney Vento Liaison list. Building Changes Click here to view Building Changes’ PowerPoint presentation. Mehret Tekle-Awarun and Samie Iverson shared information about Schoolhouse Washington, a project of Building Changes. In partnership with the Raikes Foundation, they have created the Washington State Student and Youth Homelessness COVID-19 Response Fund to augment existing public dollars that will be used to support students, youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. Building Changes will distribute funds to help organizations, schools, and local tribes meet needs that may otherwise be difficult to fulfill or sustain without additional assistance.  Student Needs Survey: To identify homeless students most immediate needs, Schoolhouse Washington also surveyed McKinney-Vento liaisons across the state who work directly with highly mobile students and their families. In return, they received responses from liaisons in 74 school districts across 32 counties who collectively serve nearly 17,000 students experiencing homelessness in Washington State. Click here to review the findings of their study. The top five needs identified by survey respondents were: food, mobile hotspots/internet access, devices (e.g. laptops, tablets, computers, phones), hygiene supplies, and rental assistance. Narrative responses shed light on what school districts are doing …

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