Civic engagement – Page 5 – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

VOTE: Don’t Forget to Turn in Your Ballot BY NOVEMBER 6!

November 5, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

As many of you know, TOMORROW, is the final day of the 2012 general election, so don’t forget to turn in those ballots! You should have received your ballot a few weeks ago and at this point if you have not mailed it in, you should drop it off at one of the drop-box locations, which you can find on our 2012 Homeless Voter’s Guide. At this point, it may be better to drop your ballot off at a drop-box rather than put it in the mail since we are so close to election day – any ballots postmarked after November 6 will not be counted (keep in mind USPS hours!). All ballots must be post-marked by election day (that’s tomorrow!) or dropped off at drop-box by 8pm.

Making sure EVERY VOTER COUNTS

February 17, 2021October 22, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Here at SKCCH we are passionate about providing voter registration and information for people experiencing homelessness. SKCCH interns and volunteers spent the last two weeks out in the community providing information and helping people to register. We went to shelters, day centers, and food banks and helped 70 people register to vote or update their address. Many times we heard people say, “I can’t vote,” and in most cases we were able to respond, yes you can! Although legislation was passed in 2009 that restored voting rights to people with felony convictions, many people are still unaware of their rights. We were able to inform people that as long as they are no longer under D.O.C. supervision, their voting rights are automatically restored. This is the first presidential election since that legislation passed and people were excited to register once they heard they could! One man came through the line to get a sandwich for lunch and we asked if he was registered to vote and he told us he was not registered because he couldn’t register to vote. We asked him why and he said that thirty years ago he had committed a felony. We then told him that he could ABSOLUTELY register to vote. At first, he was skeptical, but we explained the new law to him and told him that as long as he was no longer on parole he had the right to vote. Seeing the joy on his face once he found out he could vote was amazing. He told us that he had wanted to vote all his life but he had thought once he committed a felony his voting rights were stripped away for life. We then helped him register, and as he completed the form, his face began to light up; he …

2012 Youth and Young Adult Summit: Democracy at Work

October 10, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Many people begin their internships with standard orientation procedures like familiarizing yourself with your computer, the filing system, office supplies and setting up voicemail and email. Not me – I spent my first day of my United Church of Christ Social Justice Internship with SKCCH at the Coalition’s Youth and Young Adult Advocacy Summit and I could not have asked for a better introduction to this small but mighty organization. I was extremely inspired by the 25 youth and young adults who participated in the Summit on September 10-11 and I left each day far more educated on the struggles displaced youth and young adults face because I spoke with them directly about it. It was amazing to have the opportunity to sit down with these young people and listen to the inventive solutions they came up with that could solve their daily struggles. I could not have learned all I did in those two days even if I had sat at a desk for weeks reading up on issues affecting young people who are homeless. On day one of the Youth Summit, the participants, with support from peer leaders and service providers came up with four priorities after rounds of voting and then divided themselves into groups as to which priority they felt most passionate about. The priorities for this year were: Housing Transportation Shelter Employment Each group then came up with key talking points and solutions that they wanted to present to the city council member who they would be talking to on the second day. A detailed outline of these points and solutions is below. 2012 Priorities: Homeless Youth and Young Adult Summit On the first day we also had some amazing speakers present at the summit including Josh Hicks, Jim Theofolis, Steve Daschle, Kim Jones and …

Supporting Homeless Youth Advocacy at the Local Level

August 23, 2012 by Alison Eisinger

Just a week into my AmeriCorps VISTA term with the Coalition last September, I was lucky enough to sit in on SKCCH’s 2011 Youth Advocacy Summit and chat with participants about the challenges they face living without a stable home in King County. The Homeless Coalition’s Youth Advocacy Summit is a two day event for homeless and at-risk youth and young adults to identify and discuss policy issues that are most important to them. Youth learn about and practice advocacy skills by bringing identified issues before City of Seattle and King County officials. I found last year’s Summit to be informative and inspiring – for both the youth and the elected officials involved. Youth were able to voice their opinions on issues from the need for more low-income friendly transportation to the lack of public toilets and lockers. Their top 5 priorities were the following: Housing/Services for Unaccompanied Minors Career Development Transportation/Metro Public Storage and Lockers Service Stewardship More details here: 2011 Youth Summit Participant Priorities This year’s Youth and Young Adult Advocacy Summit is less than 3 weeks away: September 10 and 11. Through presentations by guests speakers like Nancy Amidei (Civic Engagement Project), members of the Seattle Human Services Coalition, and staff from the Mockingbird Society, youth participants will learn about how Seattle and King County governments set policies and budgets and how their voices can make a difference in policy decisions that affect their day to day lives. Over two days participants will work to identify issues that they care about, prepare presentations, and then meet with elected officials to bring their voices to bear on policy decision-making around the issues they care about that are affected by City and County budgeting decisions. Members of SKCCH’s Youth & Young Adults Committee (made up of area social service and …

Becca Bill Changes

July 2, 2012 by admin

For the last two years, homeless youth had 3 days to stay in a shelter before staff was required to call and notify their parents of their whereabouts. During these three days, staff could create rapport with the young person, build trust and find out if they were fleeing a violent or abusive situation or taking a breather and that reconciliation with family was possible. After July 1, however, this 72 hour window will end. The Becca Bill was adopted by the Washington State Legislature in 1995 to protect homeless and run away youth by giving parents more control over where their children are located. The Becca Bill is connected to the truancy policy for students in Washington State. The law requires that shelter staff and other service providers contact parents of youth younger than 17 years old with their whereabouts. The enforcement of the law is controversial and two years ago, due to much advocacy, the Legislature passed a temporary provision giving service providers 72 hours to serve a minor before having to notify parents or the police. This temporary extension will expire after June 30th. Service providers will now have only 8 hours with youth before law requires them notify families or the authorities. That is, if the youth show up at all once word gets out. The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness is communicating with agencies that this change will directly effect to coordinate advocacy efforts and to get the word out about the change to homeless youth, service providers, and the community at large. At our Youth and Young Adult Committee meeting on July 10th and at our General Membership Meeting on July 19th members of the coalition will have an opportunity to discuss advocacy and efforts under way at various agencies to mitigate the potentially …