Workshops & Trainings – Page 3 – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

Recap: Coalition’s General Meeting – January 16, 2014

January 21, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Happy near-end of January, everyone! We’re in the midst of one of our busiest month’s at the Coalition on Homelessness. But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up on our new Recap Tradition. Without further ado, here’s what happened at the Coalition’s General Member Meeting, held on January 16, 2014. As a reminder, the General Member Meeting takes place every third Thursday of the month from 9.00 – 11.00 a.m. at the East Cherry YWCA (2820 E. Cherry Street in Seattle). For more information, check our website’s Members’ tab for a link to the ‘Committees & Meetings’ page, or simply follow this link to take you there directly. Our next General Member Meeting is Thursday, February 20, 2014. __________________ Introducing the new Director at Committee to End Homelessness King County Mark Putnam, who last worked for Building Changes, is now the new Director at the CEHKC. Mark spoke about why this work is important and what his goals and hopes are as Director. Here’s a quick paraphrase of Mark’s words: Our community is vast and large, and we are committed to listening. Will be holding many community meetings to get input and hear from folks. Speaking with Legislators about legislative priorities. Understands that people are looking for solutions and leadership beyond incarceration/police involvement, moving folks who are homeless from one neighborhood to the next. We’re thinking hard about what’s next — the long-term, clear goal is focus. Please do get connected with CEHKC — attend the Governing Board meetings, which are open to all. Committee to End Homelessness: Governance changes and process Kate Speltz, King County – Homeless Housing Programsm, and Eileen Denham, City of Seattle Human Services Department, joined us to give background and information on next steps. Here’s a quick paraphrase of what they shared: Reminder: King County receives $24 Million in McKinney funding. Useful terminology: HEARTH …

Recap: Coalition’s General Meeting – December 19, 2013

January 10, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

As we were bidding farewell to 2013, Alison and I discussed what we’d like 2014 to look like for the Coalition’s Everyone Counts blog. One idea that we’re running with is to post a recap after every General Member Meeting. 2013 was a great year for our Coalition, and one we want to build off of in 2014. So, here to ring in this New Year with our new tradition is a Recap of December’s General Member meeting. As a reminder, the General Member Meeting takes place every third Thursday of the month from 9.00 – 11.00 a.m. at the East Cherry YWCA (2820 E. Cherry Street in Seattle). For more information, check our website’s Members’ tab for a link to the ‘Committees & Meetings’ page, or simply follow this link to take you there directly. Our next General Member Meeting is Thursday, January 16, 2014. __________________ Seattle Final Budget News & Thank You to Mayor Mike McGinn Our friends at the Seattle Human Services Coalition’s handout highlights our HUGE win with the City of Seattle Budget process: an additional investment of $6,891,219! Out-going Mayor Mike McGinn and Jerry DeGrieck, Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor McGinn, came to receive the Coalition’s sincerest Thank You for their leadership and commitment to Seattle residents over the past four years, and also for his strong support of the Coalition’s budget recommendations this past year. Mayor McGinn shared his heartfelt thanks to the Coalition and its members for all of our advocacy, and encouraged us to keep it up. 2014 Legislative Session Preview Robin Zukoski of Columbia Legal Services (CLS) provided background and an overview about the upcoming Legislative Session. Ben Miksch of Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) shared with us WLIHA’s 2014 State Legislative Agenda. Carrie Dolwick of Transportation Choices Coalition shared the status of Transportation policy at the …

Officials in City Hall and Olympia need to hear our clients’ voices and stories.

November 14, 2013 by Alison Eisinger

This Guest Post was written by Katie Bilek, who serves as co-chair of the Coalition’s Single Adults Advocacy Committee. Katie works for Catholic Community Services as a Case Manager and Outreach Specialist. I spend a good deal of time thinking, and talking, about advocacy. Always eager to learn more technical skills and gain insider tips, I jumped at the opportunity the Coalition offered me to attend the Children’s Alliance’s Leadership in Advocacy Training. Over the course of a jam-packed day, we covered strategic-thinking sessions; message framing; coalition-building; many useful technical skills; practice refining and delivering arguments ~ and even a visit from a Washington State legislator! It took me some time to reflect on the experience and let everything to sink in. As an advocate, I have learned a lot while lobbying in D.C. (the “other” Washington) and in various State houses. Learning more information and skills was certainly helpful, but it was not what truly blew me away at the Children’s Alliance’s training. I left the room fixated on something else entirely: the advocate colleagues with me that day! The passion contained in those rooms was outrageous, and moved many to tears on multiple occasions. I interact with passionate people regularly, at work and at the SKCCH Single Adults Advocacy Committee meetings. It is one of the things I love about my profession. Though it does take a special kind of person to devote one’s career to work for justice and equality, the genuine brand of fire I saw in many of my fellow trainees was much more unique. These folks were eager to participate and advocate for reasons that transcend the professional. They were driven not by intangible ideals, but by real things that hit much close to home; they were fighting for their life and the lives of …

The Coalition takes Tacoma!

May 20, 2013 by Alison Eisinger

Last week, Coalition staff were excited to be joined by our two fantastic scholarship recipients at the 23rd Annual Statewide Conference on Ending Homelessness. The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance put on this informative and exciting conference, this year in nearby Tacoma. We were joined by Susan and Tracy (pictured below) and spent two full days learning and connecting with people from all around the state committed to ending homelessness. I had the pleasure of getting to know both recipients both before and during the conference and their enthusiasm was contagious! For me it was great to see how many passionate people are out there fighting to end the homeless situation, and how these groups are dealing with the changing face of homelessness today. I especially enjoyed seeing the different programs and how they work … by attending I now have found some advocacy groups that I will get involved with most definitely now. -Susan

A thrilling week for advocacy in Seattle, Bellevue, and Olympia!

February 19, 2013 by Alison Eisinger

This week was an exciting one for housing and homelessness advocacy! Last Saturday, 80 people took part in the Coalition’s Homelessness Advocacy 101 workshops in Seattle and Bellevue. We had an amazingly diverse group of participants, including many people who had volunteered for the One Night Count. Among those who came were social workers; two doctors from the local VA; a member of the Redmond Human Services Commission; a nurse from the Harborview Women and Children’s Clinic; a Weyerhaueser manager; retirees; teenagers; people from local churches; people who are currently homeless; and people who were once homeless. Everyone had a simple and powerful idea in common: that it is unacceptable to allow more than 2,736 people to struggle to survive outside in our community. Our starting point for each workshop is, of course, a summary of the One Night Count. The point of the Homelessness Advocacy 101 workshops is to make sure that the 2,736 men, women and children who were counted outside on a cold, wet night a few weeks ago inspire us to take action to make things better. We have to go beyond the One Night Count, and make the results more than just a number. We have to advocate for affordable housing and vital services so that everyone can have the the opportunity to live in a safe, healthy, affordable home. Two great presenters helped explain several key legislative proposals currently being considered in the State Legislature that will help prevent and end homelessness. Ben Miksch from the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance spoke about the need to reform the state’s revenue system as the foundation for allowing positive investments in housing, services, education, and other important priorities. Ben also highlighted adding $175 million to the Housing Trust Fund, and maintaining and strengthening the Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) …

Homeless students have rights, but many of them have no idea what they are

September 21, 2012 by admin

Is there funding for extra-curricular activities under McKinney Vento for homeless students? This question was asked during the Seattle/King County Coalition’s Annual McKinney-Vento 101 training on August 22nd. Jess Lewis from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Katara Jordan from Columbia Legal Services spent 2 hours introducing and explaining the complex issues in McKinney-Vento legislation to close to 100 school staff and housing and homeless service providers. The McKinney-Vento Act requires school districts to immediately register, transport and provide and pay for extra-curricular activities to homeless students. There are more than 26,000 students in Washington state that qualify for McKinney-Vento services, and school districts must pay for these services whether or not they recieve funding under the law. Most school districts do not receive this funding. Washington State has 295 school districts. Of those, 23 receive McKinney-Vento sub-grants. If a student wants to participate in extra-curricular activities, the school district is required to address the barrier to full participation. Often, school districts will look to community service providers, booster clubs, etc. to try and address the specific needs of students. If other resources cannot be found, the school district is still required to find some way to address the barrier to participation. Another common question service providers ask and school staff often find confusing is: What is the distance that schools are required to transport kids to school? Many school personnel have been told that schools will not transport kids out of their county. However, there is no specific distance or commute time mentioned in the McKinney-Vento Act when it comes to school of origin transportation. So, a student attending school in Everett Public Schools, as an example, and finds shelter with her family in Seattle can continue attending her school in Everett if it is determined by all parties that …

1,204 Homeless Children Ready for School Thanks to Project Cool

August 18, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

After months of preparation, we are celebrating the smooth and successful distribution of 1,204 Project Cool backpacks to homeless children across King County. This August, more than 150 awesome volunteers gathered together over 4 days in the basement of the Columbia City Church of Hope to prepare school supplies and then fill and distribute backpacks for homeless students ages 3 to 18. You guys ROCK! Last Tuesday, Project Cool backpacks went out to 14 different Coalition member agencies to support the education of the children they serve in their various homeless housing programs (including emergency shelter and transitional housing). We know the need is great. In the 2010-2011 school year, 4,423 students (pre-k through high school) were identified as homeless in King County school districts; 26,049 students across all Washington State schools. This was a 19% increase from the previous year and a 55% increase from 2006-2007 (for more information visit http://schoolhousewa.org/). A new backpack filled with the tools students need tells kids that they belong and gives parents one less financial burden to bear. Backpacks may be out the door, but the work to support the education of homeless students does not stop here. Seattle Public School starts in just a couple weeks on September 5. The instability of homelessness makes stability in school that much more important for children. Luckily, homeless students have several educational rights under an important federal law – the McKinney Vento Education Act –, which helps advocates and families keep children in school even if they don’t have the right paperwork to enroll or their address changes every 60 days. The Coalition’s August 22 “Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101” training will prepare school personnel and service providers to help homeless students stay in school. None of this work could be possible without the support of …