National homelessness, housing, and related issues

May 21, 2020 Coalition Annual Membership Meeting

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Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual Membership Meeting! Sign up for Coalition emails to make sure you receive updates and notice of upcoming meetings. Highlights and resources shared on the call are below. Click here to view the Coalition’s PowerPoint Presentation. 9:00 – Welcome and Introduction Opening Ceremony by Chief Seattle Club Drummers – thank you Randy Tippins-Firstrider, Youth Outreach Case Manager with Chief Seattle Club ——– New Coalition Mission, Vision, and Values – Thank you to Coalition Board members for sharing our new guiding principles. And thank you to all our members who contributed to this process Kate Baber, President, Coalition on Homelessness Board Anna Strahan, Coalition on Homelessness Board Member Derrick Belgarde, Treasurer, Coalition on Homelessness Board ——– Board of Directors Election: Each dues-paying member organization has one vote to elect the slate of candidates for the Board. We are pleased that four Board members have agreed to renew their terms of service: Derrick Belgarde, Katie Escudero, Benjamin Miksch, Jenn Romo. Primary membership contacts will hear from us directly about this. If you think you are the person who should vote, or have a question, please email us Highlights from the past year with the Coalition – see photos in our PowerPoint Presentation linked above! ——– City, County and Statewide Advocacy Opportunities Regarding sweeps currently happening in the City of Seattle, Alison shared: “We don’t find it to be acceptable under any circumstances that people are left to fend for themselves. We have proudly and successfully wrangled with multiple mayoral administrations over these kinds of dehumanizing and morally wrong actions. And now this. In the context of a global health emergency, in context of interim guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that clearly states in the absence of individual housing options people living unsheltered should …

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Employment Assistance Programs: Information and Coalition Update from January 16 Zoom Call

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Although The Coalition cancelled our January Membership Meeting in recognition of the extra strain severe weather conditions put on people experiencing homelessness and on service providers, and the real difficulties of winter travel in our large county, we did host a ZOOM call to update members on the 2020 Legislative Session priorities, click HERE to visit our State Legislative Advocacy page see many ways you can take action! We had a great panel of staff from Employment Services Programs who were going to present at the meeting, and we will be rescheduling these presenters for a future Coalition meeting. In the meantime, we wanted to share programmatic and contact information for these employment and job readiness training programs so that your programs and clients can access these important resources. Please contact the programs below directly if you or your clients have any questions about their services. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) The Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) serves people with disabilities between the ages of 16 to 80, and helps with gaining, maintaining and advancing in employment. Eligible clients must have a permanent disability (intellectual, mental and/or physical in nature) and barriers to employment. In order to refer, client must make contact themselves for intake unless they need assistance to call, and in that case, a case manager can set up the appointment if they let the front desk staff know the customer cannot make the initial contact. To request an intake, call 253-372-5900, or reach out to your local Work Source office for a referral. Please contact Allesandria Goard for more in-depth information on the services and nuances of the DVR program. Pioneer Human Services   Roadmap to Success is a job-readiness program for formerly justice involved individuals who are seeking full time employment To be eligible for the …

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Event Announcement: The New York Experience with Rent Regulations (10/15)

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Posted with permission from the Tenants Union of Washington State and Timothy Collins The New York Experience with Rent Regulations Timothy L. Collins – former Exec. Director, New York City Rent Guidelines Board October 15, 2015 – 7:30 pm Tenants Union of Washington State, 5425 B Rainier Ave, Seattle, WA 98118 The Tenants Union of Washington State has invited Timothy L. Collins to talk about how rent regulations have worked in New York City. Mr. Collins was Executive Director and Counsel of the New York City Rent Guidelines Board for seven years, managing a research and administrative staff for a board that sets rents for one million housing units in New York City. He has an unmatched grasp of the on-the-ground realities – economic, political, social and legal – of New York City and state rental housing and efforts to keep it affordable. Mr. Collins also served as Assistant Attorney General of New York State in the Real Estate Finance Bureau, and as Assistant Counsel in the New York City Office of Rent and Housing Maintenance. He is currently a partner in the law firm of Collins, Dobkin and Miller LLP in New York City, and teaches constitutional history at Pace University there. Mr. Collins will address both the controversies around rent regulation and the question of home rule for cities on housing issues. For more details, see Mr. Collins paper: “Rent Regulation in New York: Myths and Facts” – http://www.seattle.gov/council/licata/attachments/Rent-Regulation-in-New-York-Myths-and-Facts.pdf For more information: Tenants Union of Washington State, 206-722-6848, tenantsunion.org. Peter Costantini, jpetercostantini@comcast.net, 206-290-0219.

Recap: General Meeting and Street Drugs 101 Case Manager Training – June 18,2015

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What a meeting!  Among the friendly faces were representatives from SHARE, YWCA, Plymouth Housing Group, Housing Development Consortium, Child Care Resources, Compass Housing Alliance, Housing Justice Project, Hopelink, REACH/Evergreen Treatment Services, North Helpline, Catholic Community Services, Recovery Cafe, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Jewish Family Services, Aridell Mitchell Home (Goodwill Development Association), Washington Family Counseling Service, ROOTS, YouthCare, El Centro de la Raza, Multi-Service Center, Year Up, and 2-1-1. Following the General Meeting, representatives from even more organizations and community members joined us for our Street Drugs 101 + Naloxone + Related Laws training. Both were informative meetings – Here’s a brief recap . . .  [Psssst! Don’t miss out in the future — add our General Meeting dates to your calendar.] June 18, 2015 General Membership Meeting Report-back Smoking Ban update – On Thursday, May 28, the Board of Park Commissioners voted unanimously (8-0) to pass a smoking ban in Seattle Parks. This ban will take effect 30 days after the vote, likely beginning in July. While this is still a disappointing outcome, it’s important to remember the impact of our collective action. By speaking up with many community members and organizations, we were able to influence the removal of the $27 citation, ensure a “Right to Dispute” be made available, and see to it that there is oversight of enforcement. An emphasis of education is also a feature of this policy. Read the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s release about the new smoking ban.  Now, we all have continued work to do to ensure that what is “in writing” is put into action, and that whatever plays out is brought to light. This means we need you, your colleagues, your friends and family, and, certainly, the people you serve who are (likely) most impacted by this policy to keep us informed about how the implementation and enactment of …

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Recap: Coalition’s Youth & Young Adults Committee Meeting — June 9, 2015

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On Tuesday the Youth & Young Adults Committee received training on Hepatitis (HCV) from Chelsea Amato with the Hepatitis Education Project. Besides delivering an incredibly informative training, Chelsea’s given us access to her entire presentation plus additional resources. Best of all, the good folks at Hepatitis Education project are always open to do workshops and testing for agency staff and/or our youth participants — do not hesitate to reach out and continue these conversations back at your respective agencies. Hepatitis_Basic Overview Presentation Hepatitis Support Group*: HEP Monthly Meet-Up Quarter Sheet Fact Sheets from HCV Advocate can be found at www.hcvadvocate.org National Hepatitis Corrections Network (NHCN) –  www.hcvinprison.org *Hepatitis Education Project hosts an evening Monthly Meet-Up (support group) every 1st Thursday of the month. If you’d like to receive email updates about the Meet-Up and any other events, be sure to contact Chelsea (chamato@hepeducation.org;  206-732-0311). She and her colleagues are happy to answer questions, take your referrals, provide testing and training at your agencies. To reach Chelsea and the Hepatitis Education Project Crew: Chelsea L. Amato, BSW HEP Advocate and Educator 911 Western Ave.  #302  ● Seattle, WA 98104 ● 206-732-0311 ● 206-732-0312 (fax) www.hepeducation.org ● www.hcvinprison.org ● Find us on Facebook! Join us next month on July 14 for a training on Naloxone, and to dig into 2015 Homeless Youth Advocacy Summit preparations. See you then!

Recap: Coalition’s General Membership Meeting — May 21, 2015

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You packed the room at our May 21 General Membership Meeting. Among the friendly faces were folks from Farestart, Sound Mental Health, Community Lunch on Capitol Hill, Harborview, City of Redmond, Housing Development Consortium, Hopelink, 2-1-1, Solid Ground, Seattle Community Law Center, Compass Housing Alliance, ROOTS, Catholic Community Services – Aloha Inn, Jewish Family Services, YearUp, Lake City Taskforce on Homelessness, Real Change, Global to Local, City of Seattle Human Services Department, Seattle Parks Department, resident of Pioneer Square, UW Center for Pediatric Dentistry, 45th Street Youth Clinic (Neighborcare), Low Income Housing Institute, REACH, UW Law School, YWCA Landlord Liaison Project. This broad representation from our member organizations and community as a whole helped facilitate important, timely dialogue with Seattle Human Services Department Director and Deputy Director as well as Acting Parks Superintendent. Here’s a brief recap . . .  [Psssst! Don’t miss out in the future — add our General Meeting dates to your calendar.] I. Discussion with Director Catherine Lester & Deputy Directors Heidi Albritton Catherine stared by sharing her background, starting at age 4, to help us understand her motivations, perspective, and reasons why she does what she does. She has five over-arching focuses/goals for HSD: Results. Generate results that are measurable, and that increase equity and decrease disparity. Measures vary, and need to be properly applied (e.g., quality vs performance vs outcome). Public Stewardship. HSD has had audit findings each year for the last four years. This isn’t good for many reasons, two of which are: 1) calls the question about whether HSD can do the job, and 2) risks money that flows to providers. Preferred Employer. Create a working environment that is positive and productive. This absolutely includes ensuring that providers have better, positive experiences working with HSD staff. Innovation.(Let’s continue to honor innovations that already exist.) Spoke specifically towards …

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