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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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Annual Membership Meeting – May 21, 2026

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2026 Annual Membership MeetingThursday, May 21, 8:30-11 a.m. 9:15 – 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Introductions 9:30 – 10 a.m. The Power of Being in Coalition Together 10 – 10:40 a.m. Who Can Call King County Home? A conversation about the housing affordability crisis with: 10:40 – 10:50 Coalition Board of Directors Candidate Slate 10:50 – 11 a.m. Member Announcements Speak Up Against HUD’s Attempt to Dismantle the Equal Access Rule COMING IN AUGUST: Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 A training for public school, housing, and human services staff working with students experiencing homelessness in area public schools. SAVE THE DATE: Truth to (Staying) Power Thurs, Sept 17, The Royal Room – Tickets on sale in June Support the Coalition and celebrate a milestone of staying power for our Executive Director, Alison Eisinger (20 years!). PAST COALITION MEETINGS & TRAININGS: bit.ly/SKCCHYouTube INTERESTED IN MEMBERSHIP? Individual, Allied, or Organizational Email membership[at]homelessinfo[.]org or call 206-204-8350 for more information. Join our next Membership meeting Thursday, June 18, 9-10:30 a.m., Zoom Register here.

Speak Up Against HUD’s Attempt to Dismantle the Equal Access Rule

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Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has proposed a rule change that would remove protections for people to access HUD-funded shelter, housing and services that best fit their gender identity. Tearing down the “Equal Access Rule” would make those resources contingent on matching biological sex, and it would allow service providers to demand proof of someone’s biological sex in order to access services. That would further marginalize trans, intersex, and nonbinary people who are already at high risk of homelessness and dangerous situations while they are homeless. Speak up today against this terrible rule change! Write your comment before June 29, 2026 using the template below. HUD is legally required to review all comments and respond to them in their final rule. We have successfully stalled out other terrible rule changes before by submitting an overwhelming number of comments – let’s do it again! Sample comment – please customize it if you have time: 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 …

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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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Resources to prepare for federal immigration enforcement agents

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This page was last updated Weds, March 18, 2026. We will update this page as we receive additional information and resources. If you have resources you believe should be included here, please email us at contact[at]homelessinfo[dot]org. Find an upcoming virtual training hosted by the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN) here. Trainings offered in both English and Spanish: Know Your Rights! Family Safety Planning Legal Counsel for Children and Youth (LCYC) offers the opportunity to consult with families as they develop Family Safety Plans, with resources in multiple languages. Eastside Legal Assistance Program (ELAP) has compiled good information as well. For Service and Housing Providers Take these basic steps to prepare for federal immigration enforcement agents at your service or housing site: In partnership with the King County Regional Housing Authority and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), we hosted a training to prepare service providers in April 2025. While information about the most effective protections changes rapidly, this training reviews key information and includes links to more resources. This training is for educational purposes ONLY. The information provided is not individualized legal advice. Individuals with immigration questions should seek the advice and counsel of an experienced immigration attorney.  Take Action to Keep Families Housed The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a new rule that would strip federal housing assistance from entire families when a single family member cannot provetheir U.S. citizenship or eligibility. This jeopardizes housing for 80,000 people nationwide including 37,000 children. One in four children—who are U.S. citizens—have a least one immigrant parent. HUD’s proposed rule would force families to separate or stay together and become homeless. Learn more from the Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition. TAKE ACTION TODAY HUD is accepting comments on this proposed rule until Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Submit a comment in opposition here. Find templates for your comments …

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General Membership Meeting – February 19, 2026

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During our February 2026 meeting, we were joined by Senator Patty Murray’s staff to hear about federal funding for housing and homelessness services in 2026, learned about a new legal aid hotline for long-term-care residents from the Washington Office of Civil Legal Aid, got a crash course on progressive revenue and the Washington tax code from Balance Our Tax Cod and the WA Budget & Policy Center, and heard a mid-session update on the 2026 legislative session from the Coalition’s Community Policy Manager Hali Willis. 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. Federal funding for housing & homelessness services The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2026, passed in early February, authorized federal funding for homelessness and housing programs in 2026 and set up crucial guardrails for the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which supports 4,400 homes in King County alone. Senator Patty Murray and her team did considerable work on these federal funding bills to ensure they protect programs that work. We thank them for their good work and are reminded that advocacy works! We must continue contacting our lawmakers, sharing how policy decisions impact us, and activating people in our networks to speak up, too. Read more about 2026 Fiscal Year HUD funding and protections for the CoC program here. New legal aid hotline for long-term-care residents In January 2026, the Washington Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) opened an intake hotline to provide legal counsel for people living in long-term-care facilities. If somebody is facing discharge or has been discharged from a community-based long-term care facility, this hotline can provide them legal information, advice, and representation. The statewide intake line, run by Disability Rights WA, …

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In-Person General Membership Meeting with the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence – October 30, 2025

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Our combined membership meeting with the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence (CEGV) covered the intersection of homelessness and gender-based violence to better equip service providers, advocates, and community members to serve people with complex needs. Meeting attendees included a broad representation of homeless service providers and gender-based violence advocacy programs and organizations, which provided valuable opportunities for connection and allowed us to collaboratively explore resources offered by the program attendees represented. The broad representation of providers and organizations also aided in a robust discussion and exploration for future collaborations. The Lay of the Land CEGV’s Housing Systems Manager Hannah Whitworth grounded our discussion by sharing the first minute and thirty seconds of the following video:  The two issues of gender-based violence and homelessness can perpetuate each other, causing cycles where a survivor feels they have no other option but to stay in an unsafe living situation to maintain housing, or they become unhoused due to their experiences of gender-based violence. Additionally, people experiencing homelessness are more at risk of experiencing sexual violence before, during, and after periods of homelessness. Our community and systems must develop and maintain housing responses that fit the needs of survivors at any point in their lives, which can be wide ranging and diverse depending on where they are in their journey as a survivor and in navigating homelessness.   Hannah highlighted the existing network available to support survivors and the entry points into the DV Coordinated Housing Access Point (DVCHAP) including the DVHopeline for survivors and anyone working with survivors: While supportive and necessary, these efforts are underfunded and insufficient to address the needs of all impacted in our region. We learned of the complexity of disclosure and personal identification as a DV survivor, and how support in those circumstances result in homeless service providers working with …

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Mini General Membership Meeting – October 16, 2025

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During this abbreviated General Membership Meeting, we heard updates from community partners, reviewed important information for the upcoming General Election on Nov 4, learned about the Seattle and King County budget cycles, and shared our budget priorities for this year (and took action together!). We are hosting another Membership Meeting this month in partnership with the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence on Thursday, October 30 in person (!) at LANGSTON Seattle from 9-11 a.m. This meeting will cover the intersection of homelessness and gender-based violence to better equip service providers, advocates, and community members to serve people with complex needs. Please join us! There will be refreshments and costumes are encouraged. Register here: bit.ly/Oct30Meeting 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. What’s Happening at the Coalition Our next free, virtual training is on Social Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI). This training is presented in partnership with the Benefits Law Center. Please join us on Tuesday, October 28 from 9-11 a.m. over Zoom. All registrants receive a copy of the recording and presentation afterwards. Preparing for the November 4 General Election Jump to 00:12:42 to view this section of our meeting. The General Election is less than two weeks away. Ballots were mailed on Wednesday, October 15, so you and your clients should have them by now. If you don’t, call King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE (8683) or print a ballot online here: bit.ly/KCprintballot. There was a recent KOMO news piece about the postal service’s new system and speed for postmarking mail. Because of this change, KC Elections is advising people to return their ballot by mail EARLY (by Monday, October 28) to ensure …

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