March 16th, 2023 General Membership Meeting
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 …