Civil & human rights – Page 7 – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

Policy Update: The 2014 Legislative Session — Part 1

February 3, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Washington State’s 2014 Legislative Session began on Monday, January 13, 2014 and will continue through its 60th and last day on Thursday, March 13, 2014. It’s a short one, Friends. And this is one of the many reasons why your voice needs to be heard in Olympia today, tomorrow, and throughout this Legislative Session. Today marks the 22nd day of Session. That means we have 4 (four!) days to get important bills voted out of their respective policy committee by February 7.The naysayers are wrong when they tell you it’s too late, that too much has already been decided. There is still enough time and many opportunities to make a difference. Plenty of good bills need help — your help! — to get through the law-making process. In particular, here are some of those bills and messages (with hyper-linked Factsheets) that we hope you’ll stand with us in supporting: Pass the Youth Opportunities Act — ESHB 1651, SB 6469 Pass the Homeless Children Education Act — HB 2373, SB 6074 Make Document Recording Fees permanent — HB 2368, SB 6313 Pass the Certificate of Restoration of Opportunity — HB 2399 Pass the Fair Tenant Screening Act, Part 3 — HB 2537, SB 6291 Protect Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) & Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD) Fund the Housing Trust Fund At the Coalition’s Homelessness Advocacy 101 workshops this past Saturday, two Legislative Aides shared with us the “secret” to getting heard in Olympia: tell Legislators that you care, a simple message about why you care, and do it in a way that’s easiest for you. Nancy Amidei, cheerleader for democracy and our Guest Presenter at the workshops, echoed that sentiment, saying that one doesn’t have to be an expert or have a Ph.D. to be an advocate. Whether you want to send an advocacy postcard, e-mail your Legislators, leave a message through the Legislative Hotline (1-800-562-6000), or head down to Olympia to meet in-person, your …

Recap: Coalition’s General Meeting – January 16, 2014

January 21, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Happy near-end of January, everyone! We’re in the midst of one of our busiest month’s at the Coalition on Homelessness. But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on our new Recap Tradition. Without further ado, here’s what happened at the Coalition’s General Member Meeting, held on January 16, 2014. As a reminder, the General Member Meeting takes place every third Thursday of the month from 9.00 – 11.00 a.m. at the East Cherry YWCA (2820 E. Cherry Street in Seattle). For more information, check our website’s Members’ tab for a link to the ‘Committees & Meetings’ page, or simply follow this link to take you there directly. Our next General Member Meeting is Thursday, February 20, 2014. __________________ Introducing the new Director at Committee to End Homelessness King County Mark Putnam, who last worked for Building Changes, is now the new Director at the CEHKC. Mark spoke about why this work is important and what his goals and hopes are as Director. Here’s a quick paraphrase of Mark’s words: Our community is vast and large, and we are committed to listening. Will be holding many community meetings to get input and hear from folks. Speaking with Legislators about legislative priorities. Understands that people are looking for solutions and leadership beyond incarceration/police involvement, moving folks who are homeless from one neighborhood to the next. We’re thinking hard about what’s next — the long-term, clear goal is focus. Please do get connected with CEHKC — attend the Governing Board meetings, which are open to all. Committee to End Homelessness: Governance changes and process Kate Speltz, King County – Homeless Housing Programsm, and Eileen Denham, City of Seattle Human Services Department, joined us to give background and information on next steps. Here’s a quick paraphrase of what they shared: Reminder: King County receives $24 Million in McKinney funding. Useful terminology: HEARTH …

Recap: Coalition’s General Meeting – December 19, 2013

January 10, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

As we were bidding farewell to 2013, Alison and I discussed what we’d like 2014 to look like for the Coalition’s Everyone Counts blog. One idea that we’re running with is to post a recap after every General Member Meeting. 2013 was a great year for our Coalition, and one we want to build off of in 2014. So, here to ring in this New Year with our new tradition is a Recap of December’s General Member meeting. As a reminder, the General Member Meeting takes place every third Thursday of the month from 9.00 – 11.00 a.m. at the East Cherry YWCA (2820 E. Cherry Street in Seattle). For more information, check our website’s Members’ tab for a link to the ‘Committees & Meetings’ page, or simply follow this link to take you there directly. Our next General Member Meeting is Thursday, January 16, 2014. __________________ Seattle Final Budget News & Thank You to Mayor Mike McGinn Our friends at the Seattle Human Services Coalition’s handout highlights our HUGE win with the City of Seattle Budget process: an additional investment of $6,891,219! Out-going Mayor Mike McGinn and Jerry DeGrieck, Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor McGinn, came to receive the Coalition’s sincerest Thank You for their leadership and commitment to Seattle residents over the past four years, and also for his strong support of the Coalition’s budget recommendations this past year. Mayor McGinn shared his heartfelt thanks to the Coalition and its members for all of our advocacy, and encouraged us to keep it up. 2014 Legislative Session Preview Robin Zukoski of Columbia Legal Services (CLS) provided background and an overview about the upcoming Legislative Session. Ben Miksch of Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) shared with us WLIHA’s 2014 State Legislative Agenda. Carrie Dolwick of Transportation Choices Coalition shared the status of Transportation policy at the …

Officials in City Hall and Olympia need to hear our clients’ voices and stories.

November 14, 2013 by Alison Eisinger

This Guest Post was written by Katie Bilek, who serves as co-chair of the Coalition’s Single Adults Advocacy Committee. Katie works for Catholic Community Services as a Case Manager and Outreach Specialist. I spend a good deal of time thinking, and talking, about advocacy. Always eager to learn more technical skills and gain insider tips, I jumped at the opportunity the Coalition offered me to attend the Children’s Alliance’s Leadership in Advocacy Training. Over the course of a jam-packed day, we covered strategic-thinking sessions; message framing; coalition-building; many useful technical skills; practice refining and delivering arguments ~ and even a visit from a Washington State legislator! It took me some time to reflect on the experience and let everything to sink in. As an advocate, I have learned a lot while lobbying in D.C. (the “other” Washington) and in various State houses. Learning more information and skills was certainly helpful, but it was not what truly blew me away at the Children’s Alliance’s training. I left the room fixated on something else entirely: the advocate colleagues with me that day! The passion contained in those rooms was outrageous, and moved many to tears on multiple occasions. I interact with passionate people regularly, at work and at the SKCCH Single Adults Advocacy Committee meetings. It is one of the things I love about my profession. Though it does take a special kind of person to devote one’s career to work for justice and equality, the genuine brand of fire I saw in many of my fellow trainees was much more unique. These folks were eager to participate and advocate for reasons that transcend the professional. They were driven not by intangible ideals, but by real things that hit much close to home; they were fighting for their life and the lives of …

Voter Registration 2013: Complexity in ensuring every voter counts.

February 17, 2021October 9, 2013 by Alison Eisinger

If registering to vote or voting itself were as easy and simple as we would like to think it is, then I would not have needed to volunteer on Friday or Monday. It has been over four years since voting rights were restored for people with Washington State felony records so long as they are no longer under Department of Corrections. (Even more, a person with a federal felony conviction or felony conviction in another state never lost their right to vote in Washington.) And still, on Friday and Monday, I stunned a handful of individuals when I told them, “No, you can actually vote! Here’s a pamphlet about it – I’m not lying to you!” One man, older in age with a youthful spirit and appearance, looked at me with a wide-eyed, winded expression and quietly said, “I’ve never voted, never been able to. I can’t believe this.” We shook hands and smiled, one registered voter to another. Although voting rights were never revoked for people who are homeless, it takes a lot of extra understanding to know how to register. Another man, who apologized for smelling ‘wet’ because he had been out in the chilly Seattle rain the past three days, told me that he could not vote because he is homeless. “You absolutely can, no matter your housing status!” Still surprised by this news, he and I walked through the form, using the 2013 Voter Registration Guide to explain the difference between ‘residential address’ and ‘mailing address,’ and how to fill both of them out when one is homeless. After the form was signed and dated, the gentleman thanked me for walking over to him in the first place. His wheels still turning, he inquired, “Can the Voter ID card help me get a license?” I looked at …

2012 Youth and Young Adult Summit: Democracy at Work

October 10, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Many people begin their internships with standard orientation procedures like familiarizing yourself with your computer, the filing system, office supplies and setting up voicemail and email. Not me – I spent my first day of my United Church of Christ Social Justice Internship with SKCCH at the Coalition’s Youth and Young Adult Advocacy Summit and I could not have asked for a better introduction to this small but mighty organization. I was extremely inspired by the 25 youth and young adults who participated in the Summit on September 10-11 and I left each day far more educated on the struggles displaced youth and young adults face because I spoke with them directly about it. It was amazing to have the opportunity to sit down with these young people and listen to the inventive solutions they came up with that could solve their daily struggles. I could not have learned all I did in those two days even if I had sat at a desk for weeks reading up on issues affecting young people who are homeless. On day one of the Youth Summit, the participants, with support from peer leaders and service providers came up with four priorities after rounds of voting and then divided themselves into groups as to which priority they felt most passionate about. The priorities for this year were: Housing Transportation Shelter Employment Each group then came up with key talking points and solutions that they wanted to present to the city council member who they would be talking to on the second day. A detailed outline of these points and solutions is below. 2012 Priorities: Homeless Youth and Young Adult Summit On the first day we also had some amazing speakers present at the summit including Josh Hicks, Jim Theofolis, Steve Daschle, Kim Jones and …

Homeless students have rights, but many of them have no idea what they are

September 21, 2012 by admin

Is there funding for extra-curricular activities under McKinney Vento for homeless students? This question was asked during the Seattle/King County Coalition’s Annual McKinney-Vento 101 training on August 22nd. Jess Lewis from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Katara Jordan from Columbia Legal Services spent 2 hours introducing and explaining the complex issues in McKinney-Vento legislation to close to 100 school staff and housing and homeless service providers. The McKinney-Vento Act requires school districts to immediately register, transport and provide and pay for extra-curricular activities to homeless students. There are more than 26,000 students in Washington state that qualify for McKinney-Vento services, and school districts must pay for these services whether or not they recieve funding under the law. Most school districts do not receive this funding. Washington State has 295 school districts. Of those, 23 receive McKinney-Vento sub-grants. If a student wants to participate in extra-curricular activities, the school district is required to address the barrier to full participation. Often, school districts will look to community service providers, booster clubs, etc. to try and address the specific needs of students. If other resources cannot be found, the school district is still required to find some way to address the barrier to participation. Another common question service providers ask and school staff often find confusing is: What is the distance that schools are required to transport kids to school? Many school personnel have been told that schools will not transport kids out of their county. However, there is no specific distance or commute time mentioned in the McKinney-Vento Act when it comes to school of origin transportation. So, a student attending school in Everett Public Schools, as an example, and finds shelter with her family in Seattle can continue attending her school in Everett if it is determined by all parties that …