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Welcome Back, Members! As we move into an unusually cold, rainy, and snowy March, we have the information you need to stay motivated and updated on how we can come together to support our unhoused neighbors! In our March 2023 Meeting: Check out the recording below or keep reading for a full recap! Legislative Session and Budget Updates from Sara Robbins, Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Despite our best efforts, including hundreds of emails sent from our members, SB (Senate Bill) 5480, which aims to improve the HEN improvements, did not make it out of Senate Ways & Means Committee. But all is not lost! The Coalition is working with state legislators to make technical and largescale changes to legislative proposals and will try again next legislative session. ESHB (Engrossed Substitute House Bill) 1260, which aims to reduce financial burdens on disabled SSI beneficiaries, just passed out of its last policy committee, meaning it is on its way to an important hurdle – the Ways and Means Committee. Want to make sure it passes? Email your legislators to demand that this bill must pass! Many of us know that after the kerfuffle of the legislative session, finalizing the state budget is a monumental task we must face every other year. Even though we could not improve the HEN program, we know the program as it exists is still effective in providing housing subsidies to thousands of low-income, disabled Washingtonians. Because of this, we must ensure that this benefits program is fully funded! SIGN ON to our letter to the legislature to make your voice heard! In King County, we have two upcoming levies that could maintain and expand funding for human and health services. The Crisis Care Center Levy will open five behavioral health centers in King County, with one …

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Welcome back to Public Benefits are Key! In this special edition of our Public Benefits are Key! Series, we were joined by: Marcy Bowers of Statewide Poverty Action Network, a fierce advocate and negotiator that shaped the Working Families Tax Credit Hannah Rosenberger of Solid Ground, a skilled public benefits attorney and frequent collaborator on Public Benefits are Key! Trainings The Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) is available that families and individuals in Washington that has taken years to strategize and implement. Champions such as Marcy Bowers, are thrilled to launch the WFTC as it provides a cash resource available to some undocumented Americans, people of low and moderate incomes, does not impact public benefits like TANF and Social Security benefits, and offers higher awards to those with greater need, rather than higher awards to those who earn more. Keep reading to learn about the Working Families Tax Credit Coalition and campaign that made this tax credit possible, tax credit eligibility, and access to apply. What is the Working Families Tax Credit? The Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) is a resource that… And it is expected to have huge impacts! Who is Eligible for the WFTC? To obtain this tax credit, you have to fit four criteria: Income limits and credit amounts depend on number of dependents and whether you are filing as head of household or jointly. Below is a chart that details these amounts: More information on income eligibility can be found at the Department of Revenue website. NOTE that non-US citizens are eligible for this tax credit if they have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and file taxes. To get an ITIN, you must go through the IRS – make an appointment with your local IRS office on IRS.gov. While it can take some time to …

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Hello Members,  Happy February! We can’t believe it either – time flies when you’re hard at work and boy does it show! With important actions being made in our communities and in Olympia, you deserve some time to regroup and connect with fellow Coalition members!  Our February 2023 General Membership Meeting featured information on: For a full review, please keep reading or check out our recording below! Family & Youth Program Updates from Seattle Housing Authority Sarah Birkebak joined us to hare updates on two housing voucher-based programs offered by Seattle Housing Authority and King County Housing Authority, the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Program and the Family Unification Program (FUP). The Foster Youth to Independence Program (FYI) serves foster youth ages 28-24 who will soon exit the system and are at risk of experiencing homelessness. This program would provide 3 years of subsidized rental assistance via a Housing Choice Voucher along with YMCA case management, and financial assistance with application fees and security deposits. To apply for FYI, fill out an online self-referral form at https://forms.office.com/r/huK9DghdGG or via their DCYF social worker. The Family Unification Program (FUP) serves families who need stable housing to be reunified with children if their children have been or are at risk of being placed in out-of-home care due to family housing insecurity. Eligible families would be granted Housing Choice Vouchers for use in the private market. To apply for FUP, contact your client’s DCYF caseworker. If you know someone you believe is eligible and want more information, you may email Sarah Birkebak from Seattle Housing Authority  – sarah.birkebak[at]seattlehousing[dot]org or Jamoral Bonner from King County Housing Authority  – jamoralb[at]kcha[dot]org. Legislative Session and Advocacy Updates Sara Robbins, our policy extraordinaire, gave a recap on our legislative agenda as we pass the one-third mark of the …

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Welcome Back to Public Benefits are Key! For those mystified by Social Security benefits and want to make sure your clients get the cash benefits they need, this is the training recap for you! In this training, we cover: We were joined by five knowledgeable staff from Benefits Law Center (email them with any questions!): The Benefits Law Center (BLC) has existed since 1997 to provide legal advice and representation to low-income individuals with disabilities in their pursuit of Social Security benefits. BLC is committed to delivering high-quality advocacy centered on a client’s needs, honoring the humanity of every client, and providing a continually inclusive, collaborative environment for all. Visit their website to learn more! Do you or a client need help applying for or maintaining Social Security disability benefits? Contact Benefits Law Center! Call (206) 686-7252 or email info[at]benefitslawcenter[dot]org. *Note that the following blog acts a digest of the presentation and does not capture all details. For a full recap, review the slides below or check out this training in full on YouTube! What are SSI and SSDI benefits? Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) are cash benefits disbursed by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), a federal governmental agency that provided benefits for over 65 million Americans in 2021, providing income to those who are unable to work due to a disability and to qualifying members of their households. It is important to note that the SSA has been a very effective anti-poverty tool for beneficiaries of all backgrounds, however it was built with racist intentions. Check out this article to learn more. SSI and SSDI are both disability benefits, but their programs are designed to serve different people. In short, SSI is designed for those who have low incomes who may never have …

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Happy New Year, Member We hope your 2022 ended with rest and celebration, because 2023 is off to a busy start! As we dive in to the 2023 legislative session, we are here to prep you with a few takeaways: Check out our meeting recording or keep reading for more! But first, a Few Updates from The Coalition! Coalition Legislative Priorities Sara Robbins gave a great overview of our legislative priorities – namely that we are focused on enhancing public benefits program that our unhoused community is entitled to. Specifically, The Coalition aims to pass legislation to reform the ABD (Aged, Blind, or Disabled) and HEN (Housing and Essential Needs) programs. ABD and HEN are programs designed to serve low-income people with disabilities who are applying for SSI or SSDI, providing time-limited benefits such as cash, housing, transportation, and basic needs support. A significant portion of our members serve clients accessing ABD and HEN, which means this legislation affects many of us directly! For more information on ABD and HEN, check out this blog post. The Coalition is supporting three bills: SB 5480, SB 5413, and HB 1260. These bills aim to reform ABD and HEN in a few ways: Keep an eye on your inbox for a Coalition Action Alert to pass these bills! How to Sign in PRO like a pro! Alison Eisinger, our Coalition’s fiercest advocate, walked us through some important tips on legislative advocacy. Being remote during the legislative session has its benefits, one of which being we can show our support and opposition for bills from the comfort of our own homes! Legislators know who shares their position on legislation, and it can influence how legislators vote! There are two easy ways to share your position on any bill in the legislative session: Hang in …

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Get ready for our 2023 Legislative Advocacy Agenda! As we approach the end of the year, we have much to be thankful for. Your advocacy work with Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness has resulted in some amazing achievements in 2022, such as: This meeting featured special guests Senator Patty Kuderer and some of our favorite labor advocates from Compass Housing Alliance and DESC! Review our meeting recording to learn about important legislative advocacy items, such as: We were lucky enough to hear from one of our favorite housing champions and Chair of the WA state Senate Housing Committee, Senator Patty Kuderer! She knows that housing is a human right and that we can end homelessness, and she is committed to creative solutions that help us to build one million affordable housing units by 2044! Here are a few of her 2023 legislative priorities: Investing $400 million into the state Housing Trust Fund – this means more resources to prevent homelessness by preserving existing affordable housing stock Applying ARCH ordinances statewide – this would require a notice of 180 day for rent increases New policies to guard against gentrification and displacement that supports creative new types of housing Creating a housing-specific court that allows a swifter timeline for eviction proceedings Solutions to address missing-middle housing, especially near transit Expansions to MFTE programs to make subsidized units apply to larger units and for more years New solutions to serve our neighbors living in vehicles These are just a few ideas – make sure to keep up with advocacy updates from our community partners Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance, Statewide Poverty Action Network, and Mockingbird Society. How Can I Be a Housing Advocate? We were joined by our own legislative expert, Sara Robbins, for a few tips on how we can ALL be effective …

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Welcome Back, Members! One of the main goals of the Coalition on Homelessness is to keep service providers updated and informed on time-sensitive policy and program changes that may affect our unhoused neighbors. In this meeting, we discussed a number of impactful policy, program, and advocacy updates that affect client access to resources, including: Check out a recording of the meeting below, as well as presentation slides and summaries. Change to the Public Charge Rule Sylvia Miller, Staff Attorney at Colectiva Legal del Pueblo, joined us to share her insights on the impact of the change to the public charge rule. In summary, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule on the “public charge” regulation on September 8, adding critical protections to immigrant families’ access to social safety net programs, including housing and food benefits. This rule change makes it clear that many health and safety net programs are not considered in a public charge determination used to deny temporary admission into the U.S. or deny requests to change one’s status to lawful permanent resident (i.e., green card holder). Designating an immigrant American as a ‘public charge’ bases deservingness of citizenship or permanent residency on public output, a determination with is both ableist and racist. In response to the 2019 policy revision, the ACLU predicted substantial harm to immigrants, particularly those with disabilities. This has been seen in significant disenrollment from vital programs such as SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid. This most recent policy revision, decided in September 2022, no longer considers accessing non-cash benefits as grounds for inadmissibility. This means that our immigrant neighbors can more freely access vital benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP benefits, and housing subsidies such as public housing enrollment, Housing Choice Vouchers, and Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA). The public charge rule applies to very few people, but many more …

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Welcome Back to Public Benefits are Key! Thank you for joining us for Public Benefits are Key: Medicare, Medicaid, and Spenddown. We hope with this training, you were able to learn new strategies for your clients and community members who deserve access to affordable health care. Check out our recording below to see the full presentation by Hannah Rosenberger, Public Benefits Attorney at Solid Ground. Have client-related questions? Contact Solid Ground’s Ask a Lawyer Program by emailing benefitslegalhelp[at]solid-ground[dot]org (include “ask a lawyer” in the subject line) or calling 206-694-6742. What is Apple Health/Medicaid? There are two main Apple Health/Medicaid programs, known as MAGI (“Modified Adjusted Gross Income”) and “Classic Medicaid”. MAGI Medicaid is a no-cost health insurance program for households with low incomes and has been provided due to the passage of the Affordable Care Act starting in 2011. To be eligible for MAGI Medicaid, an applicant must be: Unlike some public benefit programs, there are no resource or asset limits with MAGI Medicaid. To apply, you will need share household monthly income, immigration information, dates of birth, and social security numbers for each household member. Unlike private insurance, you can apply any time of year and switch plans as much as monthly. Under MAGI Medicaid, most beneficiaries will have a choice of 5 Managed Care Plans, which varies depending on plan availability in your region on WA. To learn more about different plans and their benefits, visit MedicarePlanFinder.com. To avoid any changes in benefit access, a beneficiary should immediately report life changes such as income fluctuations over $150 for at least two months, marriage or divorce, birth or adoption, incarceration, and other changes. View the slides above for more examples. Note that MAGI Medicaid coverage has been extended for many due to the COVID-related state of emergency. While many …

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At the Coalition on Homelessness, we want to elevate any opportunity that allows our unhoused neighbors to receive resources, and benefits they are entitled to! That’s why we want to let you know about an important announcement from the IRS: over nine million Americans have unclaimed benefits, such as the: The IRS sent this news via mail in late October. As most of us know, those experiencing homelessness may not have shared their current mailing address with the IRS, if they have a mailing address, so they may not have heard this news. Additionally, people experiencing homelessness who have very low incomes may be unaware of this if they have not filed their taxes for 2021. This is notable because to be eligible for these benefits, you must file your taxes for 2021. What Do You Need to Do? If you or your client have not filed their 2021 taxes and want to receive these benefits, please do the following: Please note that claiming benefits has no effect on your ability to claim other federal benefits such as SSI, SNAP, TANF, and WIC. Claiming these benefits also will have no effect on your immigration status or ability to get a green card or immigration benefits. Any questions? Email Sara Robbins at The Coalition.

Welcome back to Public Benefits are Key! As our frontline human service workers, you know the difference public benefits can make! One of the most vital benefits is TANF, a cash assistance program that is accessed by over 700,000 families in the US. Check out our October 27th presentation to learn about TANF eligibility, benefit extensions and exceptions, WorkFirst requirements, and helpful client advocacy tips from Hannah Rosenberger from Solid Ground and the Coalition’s own Sara Robbins! How can my client gain access to TANF? Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a cash assistance program available to families based on income, resources, family size, and citizenship status. A family may be eligible for TANF if applicants: Meet the income limits for the program Are US Citizens or lawful permanent residents of the United States – although non-citizens may be eligible for the State Family Assistance Program Are Washington state residents Are responsible for child or pregnant person Cooperate with the Division of Child Support (if a parent is required to pay child support) – however, this may be waived if cooperating may endanger the family, such as in cases of domestic violence Additionally, WA families ineligible for TANF due to non-citizenship that are victims of crimes can access food, cash, and medical – check out the this resource for more information! Child-Only TANF is also available for some children, even when other household members, including kin caregivers, are ineligible due to non-citizenship. How Long do TANF benefits last? TANF is typically available for only 60 months in a person’s lifetime. However, there are a few exceptions that allow a family to receive benefits for longer, such as if the household includes: Families may also be eligible for hardship extensions if they are homeless or a survivor of family violence, …

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