During our first meeting of 2026, we spent some time with new Seattle City Councilmember from District 2, Eddie Lin. We were also joined by King County Public Health’s Overdose Prevention and Response Training Team to learn about the resources they offer people, organizations, and programs. The Seattle Housing Authority and the King County Housing Authority updated us on the termination of federal funding for the Emergency Housing Voucher program, and we took some time to discuss the state legislative session (Jan 12 – March 12, 2026) and reviewed our priority bills.
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Seattle City Councilmember Eddie Lin, D2
Eddie Lin was elected to Seattle City Council in November of 2025. He represents District 2 (South Seattle, Yesler Terrace to Rainier Beach).
Jump to 00:06:03 in the recording to hear from CM Lin.
Before joining City Council, CM Lin worked in the City Attorney’s office for eight years. For six of those years, he supported the Seattle Office of Housing. His professional expertise is in housing finance and city government, and he’s hopeful to learn more about direct service from experts in that field.
CM Lin is the current chair of Seattle City Council’s Land Use Committee and the co-chair of the Housing Committee.
In terms of housing and homelessness, CM Lin is focused on the following priorities:
- Protect and preserve homes in the wake of federal funding cuts, including permanent supportive housing
- Assist Mayor Wilson in accomplishing her goal of 4,000 new shelter beds over the next four years
- Build new homes of all kinds (affordable, social, market rate)
- Raise new progressive revenue
You can contact CM Lin at eddie.lin[at]seattle[.]gov or you can reach out to CM Lin’s Chief of Staff, Stephanie Velasco, at Stephanie.Velasco2[at]seattle[.]gov. For scheduling a meeting with CM Lin, please email Garrett.PlescowMoore[at]seattle[.]gov.
King County Public Health’s Overdose Prevention and Response Training
King County Public Health’s Overdose Prevention and Response Training Team consists of clinicians, epidemiologists, social workers, harm reduction specialists, public health practitioners, program managers, communication specialists, administrative and supply specialists, and people with lived experience.
Jump to 00:15:03 to view the presentation by King County Public Health.
The training team is part of the larger Overdose Prevention and Response team at Public Health, which focuses on addressing overdose at the population and community health level. The goal of the Overdose Prevention and Response program is to eliminate disparities and reduce drug-related deaths while improving the health of people who use drugs in King County.
This program has two primary objectives:
- Increase equitable access to life-saving tools and support for people who use drugs
- Improve equitable access to evidence-based and emerging treatments for substance use disorder
The goal of the Overdose Prevention and Response Training Team is:
- To give individuals, community organizations, housing and homelessness service providers, healthcare providers, and first responders more skills, knowledge, and resources around opioid overdose and the use of naloxone
- To share accurate info about harm reduction, treatment, and recovery, while reducing stigma and promoting evidence-based practice.
The Training Team offers hands-on trainings for staff and the public on:
- Nasal naloxone, intramuscular naloxone, as well as fentanyl test strips
- Harm reduction, supplies, anti-stigma, substance use disorder, and medication for opioid use disorder
The Team can also assess your individual organization’s training needs and help develop information and educational materials as well as policies, procedures, and job aids.
Request a Training
To request a training, go to the Education & Training Resources page of the Overdose and Prevention team’s website and scroll to “Request a Training.” You’ll be taken to a page with an embedded form. Under the section titled “Training or Outreach,” select the “Yes” button and submit the form. You will receive a booking link for the Team’s training manager, David. You’ll submit a screening session to tailor the training to your needs within 10 days of your request. Then you’ll get scheduled!
You can also view the community trainings and events calendar, and you can email Jonetta directly to add your own event to this public calendar.
Online Resources
The Overdose and Prevention Team’s website has lots of resources available including online trainings you can watch immediately.
You can also access data about opioid overdoses in a specific King County neighborhood, street, or area.
Health Supplies
The Overdose Prevention and Response team partners with 15 organizations to be community distribution sources for supplies that keep people healthy. This includes wound care kits, sexual health supplies, and safer use kits.
Organizations and programs can also order posters and stickers from Public Health here.
Community of Practice
The Overdose Prevention and Response team hosts a “community of practice,” which is a co-learning space for housing providers to share information on current drug trends, resources, and practices. If you’re interested in joining, contact Karin Ellis at karellis[at]kingcounty[.]gov.
Systemic Improvements
The Overdose Prevention and Response team tracks and identifies areas where systemic improvements are needed including:
- Increasing clinical and/or behavioral health support on-site at housing programs
- Peer Ambassador, responder programs, and community building
- Workforce support
- Coordination with state partners
Increasing Access to Naloxone
The Overdose Prevention and Response team is piloting approaches to increase access to naloxone at 19 locations across King County including housing programs, shelters, day centers, food banks, uh, and DSHS community service offices.
Early learnings are that anonymous access, location, and visibility of the distribution boxes contents are key to successful usage.
Seattle and King County Housing Authorities on the Emergency Housing Voucher program
The Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program is a federally funded program that was built to run through 2030. The current administration has decided to no longer fund this program, and these vouchers will only exist through the end of 2026.
In King County, EHVs are administered through the Seattle Housing Authority, the King County Housing Authority, and the Renton Housing Authority. Each Housing Authority is responding to the termination of this program separately.
Thank you to the Seattle Housing Authority and the King County Housing Authority for sharing their process of contacting EHV households about their options with the loss of this federal funding.
Jump to 00:39:01 in the recording to hear from both Housing Authorities.
King County Housing Authority
The King County Housing Authority (KCHA) is offering its EHV households the opportunity to apply for placement on the KCHA waitlist for a subsidized housing unit.
KCHA is requesting that households return the EHV Property Selection Form by Monday, February 2 to be considered for this opportunity.
KCHA cannot predict the timeline for when a unit offer may become available. To maximize the chances of receiving an offer before EHV funding expires, the KCHA encourages households to select as many sites as they are able to and willing to relocate to. This will help preserve their housing assistance through KCHA.
All questions should be emailed to EHVquestions[at]kcha[.]org.
Seattle Housing Authority
The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) has developed multiple options to support long-term stability for EHV tenants. SHA is reaching out directly to tenants, landlords, and partners to share timely information.
For support, tenants, landlords, and partners can contact SHA by email at EHV[at]seattlehousing[.]org or by phone at 206-615-3584.
State Legislative Session 2026 – Housing & Homelessness Priorities
The state legislative session started Monday, January 12 and is slated to run until Thursday, March 12.
Our 2026 legislative priorities are available on our website here.
Jump to 01:01:33 in the recording to learn more about our top two priority bills this session.
HB 2266
House Bill 2266 is sponsored by Representative Strom Peterson from District 21. This bill requires local governments to allow all types of housing—specifically supportive housing and transitional housing—wherever housing is allowed.
In the past few years, many cities have intentionally created barriers to siting more housing and shelter. HB 2266 aims to correct that discrimination against low- or no-income residents and help our communities make progress toward getting more supportive housing and shelter sited and built.
HB 2489
House Bill 2489, or the “Shelter, not Penalties Act,” is sponsored by Representative Mia Gregerson from District 33.
HB 2489 sets a new state standard: Local governments are not allowed to punish people for engaging in life-sustaining activities (sitting, eating, sleeping, lying down) when there’s no adequate shelter available.
Stay Up to Date & Active
If you’d like to stay informed and keep taking legislative action every week, please join our weekly advocates call on Tuesday afternoons (2-2:30 p.m. over Zoom). These Legislative Advocacy Power Half Hours will give you updates on our priority bills and the budget and a chance to take action together.
Our Next Meeting
Our next General Membership Meeting is Thursday, February 19 from 9-10:30 a.m. over Zoom. Please join us!