June 18, 2020 Coalition Membership Meeting

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Thank you to everyone who attended our June Membership Meeting!

Sign up for Coalition emails to make sure you receive updates and notice of upcoming meetings. Highlights and resources shared on the call are below.

Recording of June 18 Coalition on Homelessness Membership Meeting

Acknowledgement and Reflection

Juneteenth Week 2020 is a week long celebration hosted by the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Black Lives Matter – Seattle/King County, Tabor 100 and the FW Black Collective.

Our purpose is to honor and remember a special milestone in black history: June 19, 1865. On this day, African Americans forced into slavery in the United States were officially and legally free (ish).

Pandemic EBT Benefits

  • The Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer Program (P-EBT) is a one-time award available to families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals through the school they attend. Families with children eligible for free and reduced price meals may be able to receive as much as $399 per child in this benefit. This benefit does not consider immigration status and is not subject to the Public Charge Rule. This means that P-EBT is one of the few benefits available to undocumented communities excluded from much of the COVID relief funds so far. Click here to review the program in more detail
  • Households already enrolled in free or reduced price meals can apply for P-EBT through the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) starting June 28. Eligible household can apply online at www.washingtonconnection.org or by calling 1-877-501-2233. For those not enrolled in free or reduced price meals who may be newly eligible, the application deadline is Tuesday June 30, click here for application materials

Census 2020 Updates

Help folks you work with complete the Census. The deadline is now October 31, but we encourage people to fill out the Census as soon as possible.

People can complete the Census in three ways:

  • Online: https://2020census.gov
    • Households would have had a Census ID mailed to them, but if someone does not have one because they don’t have a residential location or they no longer have the code, they can say that they don’t have a Census ID and still fill out the census
    • There will be a check box for “I do not have a street address” and then a question asking if someone was experiencing homelessness on April 1, 2020. After that people can provide a description of where they were staying, or a city.
  • Phone: 844-330-2020 – language support available in other languages – help someone find their language number to call by going to 2020census.gov and clicking How to Respond, or go to https://2020census.gov/en/ways-to-respond/responding-by-phone.html
  • Mail in paper forms – for households who didn’t respond by mid-April, people should have received a paper form in the mail. Other than that, unless your organization is working with the Census Bureau directly to have paper forms, it is best to help people fill out the census online or via the phone.
    • In-person non-response follow-up to households who have not completed the Census is currently scheduled for August 11 – October 31.

City/State/Federal Budget Advocacy

  • Federal Action
    • Take Action Link https://nlihc.secure.force.com/actions/TakeActionNew?actionId=AR00928
    • The House of Representatives passed the “Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act” on May 15, which includes NLIHC’s top priorities to ensure housing stability during and after the coronavirus pandemic for people experiencing homelessness and our lowest-income neighbors.
  • State Budget Forecast and upcoming advocacy
    • Email your Washington state lawmakers: Urge them to prevent cuts to critical affordable housing, homelessness, and public benefit programs by raising progressive revenue.  Washington faces a budget shortfall of at least $7 billion over the next three years. State lawmakers must balance the budget based on these projections, but they must not repeat the mistakes of the past by cutting core services. Insist that they raise revenue through progressive measures, and protect programs that support health, safety, and housing. 
    • Take Action Link: https://housingalliance.salsalabs.org/nobudgetcuts/index.html 
  • Defunding the Police
  • City of Seattle 2020 Budget Balancing Package and Progressive Revenue Proposals
  • Get ready to SPEAK UP during the week of June 22 


Update from Healthcare for the Homeless Network

COVID-19 Proactive Testing is coming to homeless service sites, and FAST Team + STRIKE Team => HEART Team

Coalition Updates

  • Hiring  Reminder: We are hiring our new Operations Director and Advocacy Coordinator for our small and mighty organization, every staff member plays a vital role. Help us find our next two staff members! The priority deadline for applications is Sunday, June 21.   
  • Accessible Banking Resources: Seattle Credit Union is offering accessible banking services to those experiencing homelessness. Check out this fact sheet for details. The Coalition wants to help our members connect their clients to banking services and gain financial literacy. We are putting together a panel of financial literacy experts for a future meeting. If your program offers financial literacy resources, or if you have good connections to other programs that do, please email Jason. 

Guest Musical Performance by J.R. Rhodes.