Poverty

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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Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) training – October 28, 2025

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This training on SSI and SSDI helps to demystify public benefits, particularly those resourced by individuals and families with housing barriers. This training covers eligibility, how to apply, how to maintain benefits, and how to resolve common issues with obtaining or maintaining benefits.   An uptick in applications that are connected to changing requirements from other benefits programs is expected. There are possible short-term impacts during the current government shutdown and some longer-term impacts that are connected to changes in eligibility. Thank you to Benefits Law Center for sharing this information with us. Benefits Law Center makes direct legal representation accessible at the convenience of the client and assists in the benefits application and appeals process in a way that accommodates their disability and other barriers that they may face. Types of Benefits There are a couple of different types of benefits that a person can receive. A person can get benefits based on having a disability, which means they have health conditions that are so severe that they wouldn’t allow you to do any kind of full-time job. SSI – Social Security Income To get benefits based on disability for SSI, the only requirements are that you meet the disability, age, or blindness requirements and you meet the income and resource limits, meaning that you’re not making too much money, and you don’t have too much money or assets. SSDI – Social Security Disability Income SSDI has the same disability verification requirements but it has different financial requirements. You have to have worked enough hours or enough work credits at a job where you’re paying taxes into the Social Security system to qualify for this benefit. Disabled Adult Child Benefits Disabled adult child benefits are for people who became too disabled to work before age 22 and their parent …

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2019 December 10 Public Benefits 101 Workshop

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The Coalition hosted a Public Benefits 101 Workshop on Tuesday, December 10 as part of our on-going series of Case Manager Trainings. Over 90 direct service providers joined us for a three-hour training covering the basics of public assistance programs offered by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). Thank you to presenters Sara Robbins and Katie Scott from the Solid Ground Legal Benefits Assistance Program who led the training and shared their knowledge and passion with the room. A brief summary of the programs covered below. Click here for slides from 12/10/2019 Presentation The workshop began with an overview of cash programs administered by the state. The Aged, Blind and Disabled program (ABD) and Housing and Essential Needs Program (HEN) are the primary cash benefits available for single adults without children. Formerly called Disability Lifeline, ABD provides $197/month to adults with a disability who do not receive significant income from work or another public benefit program. HEN has similar eligibility requirements but does not result in a direct cash payment. Details differ by region, but the primary benefits consist of a rental payment voucher and case management services. Visit Washington Connection to see if you or your client may be eligible to apply for cash assistance. For families, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) is the primary cash assistance program available. TANF has a work requirement called WorkFirst that mandates TANF recipients be looking for work or be enrolled in some sort of job training program. Clients are required to sign off on an Individual Responsible Plan (IRP), failure to meet this requirement can result in a reduced or terminated award. The presenters stressed to the room that case managers should request copies of their clients IRPs and review them closely, noting they have …

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Work to Ban Source of Income Discrimination!

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Right now House Bill (HB) 1633 and Senate Bill (SB) 5407 are making their way through committees in the House & Senate, if passed, these bills will ban source of income discrimination in the state of Washington! These bills will prohibit landlords from refusing to rent to an applicant and from evicting tenants based on the source of income of an otherwise eligible applicant or tenant. This will protect people who use social security, child support, SSI, Section 8, & HEN to pay their rent. Hear from Section 8 Tenants who faced discrimination based on their source of income in the video below and click here to read more about this victory in Renton. HB 1633 had public hearing in the House Committee on February 7th and it is scheduled for executive session in the House Committee on February 16th! Your legislators need to hear from you TODAY and every day until we pass these bills! Here’s how to take action: Use this form to send a message to your representatives in support of these bills, or; Call the legislative hotline: 1-800-562-6000 Monday – Friday 8am – 8pm, or; Call your elected official’s office directly. p.s. share this with someone you know from another area of Washington State so they can contact their representatives too! Click here to use the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance bill tracker to track the progress of bills that affect housing & homelessness!  

January 2017 General Membership Meeting: Accountable WA, Legislative Advocacy

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Thanks to those who joined us on Thursday, January 17 for our first General membership meeting of 2017! We had an action packed agenda complete with a call in to Olympia to start off our 2017 legislative advocacy. We were joined by community members from Catholic Community Services & Catholic Housing Services, Crisis Clinic, Friends of Youth, Housing Development Consortium, Jewish Family Services, Low Income Housing Institute, Plymouth Housing Group, REACH, Real Change, Recovery Cafe, All Home, Youth Care, and more! We heard a great presentation, called in to Olympia about legislative priorities, and signed famous Coalition Advocacy Postcards. Please read on for a summary of our meeting & important actions YOU can take before our next General Membership Meeting on Thursday, February 16th. Accountable WA, Kelli Smith, WA Budget & Policy Center As we know, Washington State had one of the most inequitable tax structures in the country, we do not have an income tax and therefore rely on sales tax and property tax to fund vital programs our communities need and to raise revenue. This structure causes people with lower incomes to pay disproportionately more of their income to taxes than people in the highest income bracket. The WA Budget and Policy Center, working with many organizations, has developed a package of legislation that would fix some of our tax problems, and make it so that people who are earning the least are not contributing the most in taxes (currently people who are in the lowest 20% income group contribute 16.8% of their income as WA state and local taxes, compared to those in the top 1% who contribute just 2.4% of their income to WA state and local taxes). There are two main goals of Accountable WA, we encourage you to learn more at the links below and click …

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Sound Transit Proposition 1: Mass Transit Now!

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The November 8th election is rapidly approaching and we at the Coalition are excited about one measure that you’ll find at the end of your ballot. Sound Transit (A Regional Transit Authority) Proposition No. 1 will be the very last thing on the ballot and we encourage you to vote yes!  In the past the Coalition has worked on other transit issues, including the ORCA LIFT fare and the Move Seattle transit measure. We care about affordable transit because it allows low-income individuals to access opportunities that they otherwise wouldn’t, it helps people survive and increases their ability to thrive in our community.  Here are reasons why the Coalition is excited about Proposition 1: Proposition 1 invests more than $20 million in affordable housing, and requires 80% of surplus land to be prioritized for building affordable housing. Mass transit built as part of this proposition will serve more than 36,000 current units of subsidized housing.  As more affordable housing is built along the line, more people will be served by transit. It will increase access to jobs and education for low-income, working and middle class families by providing an affordable transportation option with shorter commute times. It will provide reliable public transportation for seniors and people with disabilities which will allow for more independence. Mass transit will reduce air and carbon pollution, which disproportionately impacts people of color. Voting yes on Sound Transit Proposition 1 will increase equity in our community by increasing opportunities for low-income and middle class individuals. This is the most cost effective way to expand transit and help people get where they need to go! For more information on Proposition 1 visit masstransitnow.com and for updates on the campaign find them on facebook. If you’re passionate about this issue and would like to volunteer with the Mass Transit …

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Recap: Families with Children Meeting – KidsPlus Training and Coordinated Entry for All – June 22, 2016

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Big thanks to all who were able to join us for last month’s Families with Children committee meeting. As always, it was great to see a room full of familiar and new faces! We were joined by Mary Dunbar from Kids Plus (Public Health – Seattle & King County), who offered a training on working with guests to address their mental health needs. Danielle Winslow (All Home) provided timely Coordinated Entry for All updates with the group. Highlights and resources from these two folks are below: A list of mental health services available for children can be found here. The YMCA also operates the Children’s Crisis Outreach Response System (CCORS), which offers urgent crisis outreach as well as short-term stabilization resources to children and youth in King County, as well as their families. King County Mental Health’s wraparound services offer additional supports to children to help stabilize them in the community. More information and application processes for this program can be found on the King County website. Adults and folks of all ages can access mental health services at the locations listed on this document. The Crisis Clinic is an excellent resource for folks to call if in need of immediate crisis help, and they also provide information about suicide warning signs and crisis intervention strategies. King County Crisis and Commitment Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide initial outreach services to folks not already accessing outpatient care in King County as well as evaluation of people with mental disorders for possible involuntary detention in psychiatric facilities according to the mental illness law in the State of Washington. Throughout King County and the state of Washington, low-cost and free clinics are available for folks to access mental and physical healthcare needs. Mary suggests looking into Consejo, Cornerstone, and Project Access Northwest …

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Transit Riders Union Human Services Bus Ticket Campaign

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The Transit Riders Union (TRU) is organizing to ensure that everyone in our community can access transit options, especially with the recent expansion of the Light Rail and subsequent changes to some bus service. As a reminder, the ORCA LIFT low-income fare is now available for anyone in King, Snohomish, or Pierce county who makes less than 200% of the federal poverty limit ($23,760 for a household of 1, $40,320 for a household of 3). Visit www.orcalift.com for more information! The following information was shared at our April 21 General Membership meeting, and prepared as a guest blog post by Katie Wilson, General Secretary of TRU. PDF version here. Human Services Bus Ticket Campaign progress report & call to action April 25, 2016 Progress! The problem: Toward the end of last year TRU started realizing that the expansion of Link Light Rail and the Metro bus service restructure would raise barriers for people who use bus tickets, since the tickets and paper transfers are not accepted as proof of payment on light rail. The pressure: After a letter and meetings with councilmembers produced inconclusive results, we started a petition and announced a public action for April 16th. The KC Exec’s office quickly got in touch to tell us they were working on a solution. The solution: This “combo-ticket” will be available starting mid-June, at a cost $11 for a booklet of 10. (It is priced at 20% of the value of the bus tickets, with no extra cost for the light rail pass.) It will also be possible to swap out tickets already purchased. Until then, King County Metro has said that if organizations purchase Sound Transit Link day passes at $1 each, they will throw in twice as many bus tickets for free (Contact: Brandon Banks, brandon.banks@kingcounty.gov, 206-477-6664.) More in the works… Raising the cap: Since we’ve heard from …

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2016 Community Resource Exchange: Wed. April 6 at CenturyLink Field

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The 2016 Community Resource Exchange will be held Wednesday, April 6th at CenturyLink Field.  Please register HERE as a service provider. Download, post, and share the 2016 Community Resource Exchange Outreach Poster. This is a day where barriers are reduced to haircuts, dental checks, free shoes, a hot meal, transportation, and so much more! Click here for more info about the exchange, run by United Way of King County, or email exchange [at] uwkc [dot] org. The Coalition on Homelessness will be hosting a Voter Registration table!  Email Hillary if you’re interested in more information about our voter registration work for people who are unstably housed, or if you’d like to volunteer.