HEN – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

Move-In Cost Assistance for Homeless individuals and families through CCS Hunthausen Fund

April 12, 2017 by Alison Eisinger

Our friends at Catholic Community Services want to make sure that case managers across our region know about this funding opportunity! Click here for a flyer and read on for details. Catholic Community Services has funding available for King County, Snohomish County, and Pierce County residents for move-in cost assistance through The Hunthausen Fund. This funding is referral-based; Case Managers will complete the application with potential recipients and send it to us for review. If the individual meets all of the outlined requirements and the application is complete, payment will be made directly to the landlord for First Month/Last Month/Deposit (as funding permits). This source is specifically for individuals and families moving from homelessness into public or private permanent housing. Unfortunately, we cannot assist with move-in for transitional housing at this time. If you’d like to get more information, please review the Program Overview or contact Victoria Anderson (425) 679-0340 or James Tolbert (253) 850-2505 with any additional questions you may have. Please also feel free to tell members of other agencies, as this funding is available to all service providers’ clients, so long as the individual meets the program requirements. Thank you, and we look forward to working with you to get your clients housed!

Recap: General Meeting – 2016 Legislative Preview – December 17, 2015

January 11, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

Thank you to all who were able to join us at our December General Membership meeting for the 2016 legislative preview! Those present included folks from Solid Ground, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Child Care Resources, Chief Seattle Club, OPEIU Local 8, All Home, Jewish Family Services, Center for One Health Research, City of Seattle Office of Housing, United Way of King County, Catholic Housing Services, Columbia Legal Services, King County Health Care for the Homeless Network, YouthCare, Real Change, Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Seattle University, University of Washington Center for Pediatric Dentistry, Tenants Union, Seattle Public Library, Compass Housing Alliance, YouthCare, Hopelink, and the University District Conversation on Homelessness. Wow – we enjoyed an exciting conversation with this awesome group! Here’s a brief recap of the meeting… Special thanks to Representative Mia Gregerson (LD 33), Madeline Cavazos (Legislative Aide to Representative Joan McBride, LD 48), Curtis Knapp (Legislative Aide to Representative Brady Walkinshaw, LD 43), Nigel Herbig (Legislative Aide to Representative Jessyn Farrell, LD 46), Michael Althauser (Columbia Legal Services), Liz Trautman (YouthCare), Alex Bergstrom (Columbia Legal Services), Hana Alicic (Tenants Union), and Abi Velasco (Washington Low Income Housing Alliance), who joined us to share their perspectives on key legislative priorities for the upcoming 2016 legislative session! This year’s legislative session is set to be short (just 60 days), and we plan to advocate strongly throughout the session for the legislative priorities that are key to making sure that the needs of all those in our community are met. We appreciated hearing the perspectives of our elected representatives and advocacy partners at our General Membership meeting! Some of the legislative priorities to be ready to advocate for include: Certificate of Restoration of Opportunities Act (CROP) Homeless Youth Healthcare Act and Homeless Students Stability and Opportunity Gap Act Fair Tenant Screening Act Truth in Evictions Reporting …

2015 Legislative Session Updates: On to Special Session

February 23, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

And it’s a wrap (but not really). The 2015 Regular Legislative Session ended on Friday 4/24, but the House and Senate have yet to agree upon a budget, so a special session will start on Wednesday, 4/29. We are happy that Extended Foster Care, the YEAR Act, the Homeless Youth Act, and the King County Bonding for Affordable Housing all passed! Unfortunately a number of our bills did not pass, as happens each session since only a limited number of bills can even be brought to vote. These bills will be re-worked in the break until the 2016 legislative session and be reborn and hopefully pass in 2016. Your phone calls, postcard signing, and advocacy have been significant and continue to be vital moving forward in the Budget process. Budgets from the House and Senate were both released in mid-April. See below for more details. The House and Senate will have to work together to agree upon a balanced budget. We are glad the House and the Governor both provided for revenue in their budgets, however the Senate did not. We encourage you to ask your legislators to “Please ensure the final budget raises new revenue and invests at least $110 million in affordable housing.” Please check out our tracker below and note the status of bills you have been tracking. Keep on making calls, fill out and send in a new postcard, and staying tuned for action alerts – Sign up for Coalition Action Alerts here! Take 5: call the Legislative Hotline to leave a message for your representatives and let them know what bills you support and also urge them to invest $100 Million in the Housing Trust Fund. These bills and budget asks are crucial to helping people experiencing homelessness in our community. Hotline Number: 1-800-562-6000 – real (and kind) people answer the phone! Hotline …

2015 Legislative Priorities

January 27, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

The 2015 One Night Count identified 3,772 too many people outside from 2-5am early morning Friday, January 23. This cannot be considered normal and we need YOU to take ACTION. We are now in the third week of the 2015 Washington State Legislative Session and your elected state legislators need to hear from you today! Call the Legislative Hotline to leave a message for your representatives and let them know that you support legislation that is crucial to helping people experiencing homelessness in our community. Hotline Number: 1-800-562-6000 – real (and kind) people answer the phone! Hotline Hours: Monday-Friday 8am-8pm Please find below short messages to use when you call your representatives and senators as well as links to PDF versions of one-pagers with information about the important acts and programs that are on our legislative agenda. Click here to view the Coalition’s Legislative & Budget Priorities in a printable version. Here are our legislative priorities in no particular order. Thanks to the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Columbia Legal Services, The Mockingbird Society, and the Statewide Poverty Action Network for these one-pagers. State Housing Trust Fund: Invest $100 million to create good homes and local jobs through our State Housing Trust Fund Housing & Essential Needs (HEN), Aged, Blind, & Disabled (ABD) and SSI Facilitation PROTECT Crucial Programs & Prevent Homelessness for disabled and elderly Washingtonians: Maintain Housing & Essential Needs (HEN), Aged, Blind, & Disabled (ABD) and SSI Facilitation at current funding levels. Seniors and people with disabilities must be able to meet their basic needs and access recovery resources. Fair Tenant Screening Act (SB 5123 / HB 1257): ELIMINATE Barriers to Housing: Pass the Fair Tenant Screening Act (SB 5123 / HB 1257), and laws to prevent discrimination based on how people pay rent and ensure fair reporting …

Take Action Today: Two crucial bills need your support TODAY!

February 24, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

As this short session races ahead in Olympia, we need all voices raised! Our collective voice is powerful and legislators need to hear it in Olympia. These two bills must be passed out of their respective committees by Friday, Feb. 28 in order to move forward. Use the information in this alert to call and e-mail your legislators with these simple messages: Pass House Bill 2368, which will stop the “sunset” that will significantly cut our funding source for shelters and other homelessness programs; and Pass House Bill 1651, which will allow youth who made childhood mistakes to seal their record so that they are no longer prevented from education, employment, and housing. Here’s more information about these messages… Supporters in Olympia for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day 2014 (#HHAD2014) Our state’s most important source of funding for shelters and other homelessness programs is at risk! Lawmakers must extend the Homeless Housing and Assistance Surcharge (aka “Document Recording Fees”). Use this link to contact your state reps (or to look them up!). Ask them and their colleagues to SUPPORT House Bill 2368. A public hearing will be held Tuesday, February 25 at 1:30 p.m. in the Senate Committee on Financial Institutions and Housing & Insurance (FIHI). Without this legislation, Washington will lose more than 62% of state funding for homelessness programs beginning in 2015. We cannot wait to address this next year. Please call TODAY! Remember, you can use the FREE Legislative Hotline (staffed Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.) to leave a message for all three of your legislators: 1-800-562-6000. (Give the operator your address and they’ll look up your district and who your legislators are!) Here’s a sample message of support: Dear Representative/Senator, I urge you to support HB 2368 – the Homeless Housing and Assistance Surcharge. Shelters and programs who …

Policy Update: The 2014 Legislative Session — Part 2

February 18, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Today marks the 37th day of the Legislative Session, and also the House of Origin Cutoff (by 5 p.m.). All bills that originated in the House of Representatives must be approved and sent over to the Senate for further consideration (and vice-versa for the Senate). A bill will only become law once it has successfully passed through both the House and Senate. I mentioned in Part 1 of our update that “there is still enough time and many opportunities to make a difference.” I can tell you heard that message and acted upon it, because there’s good news on many of our priority bills! Thank you for being such strong advocates. Even over halfway through Session, there’s still so much you can do to support these bills through the process. Together we will pass these Acts into Law! Remember that the “secret” to getting heard in Olympia is simple: tell Legislators that you care, include a short message about why you care, and do it in a way that’s easiest for you. Whether you want to e-mail your Legislators, leave a message through the Legislative Hotline (1-800-562-6000), or travel to Olympia to meet in-person, your voice is valuable and needed. Here’s an update with Action Alerts on important bills: Document Recording Fees: Passed House Bill – ACT NOW! An amended version of Document Recording Fees passed through the House (HB 2368) and has been sent to the Senate. We need you to urge your Senator to pass HB 2368 through the Senate. Fair Tenant Screening Act, Part 3: Passed House Bill – ACT NOW! The Fair Tenant Screening Act, Part 3 passed through the House (HB 2537) and has been sent to the Senate. We need you to urge your Senator to pass HB 2537 through the Senate. Youth Opportunities Act: Passed House Bill – ACT NOW The Youth Opportunities Act unanimously passed the …

Policy Update: The 2014 Legislative Session — Part 1

February 3, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Washington State’s 2014 Legislative Session began on Monday, January 13, 2014 and will continue through its 60th and last day on Thursday, March 13, 2014. It’s a short one, Friends. And this is one of the many reasons why your voice needs to be heard in Olympia today, tomorrow, and throughout this Legislative Session. Today marks the 22nd day of Session. That means we have 4 (four!) days to get important bills voted out of their respective policy committee by February 7.The naysayers are wrong when they tell you it’s too late, that too much has already been decided. There is still enough time and many opportunities to make a difference. Plenty of good bills need help — your help! — to get through the law-making process. In particular, here are some of those bills and messages (with hyper-linked Factsheets) that we hope you’ll stand with us in supporting: Pass the Youth Opportunities Act — ESHB 1651, SB 6469 Pass the Homeless Children Education Act — HB 2373, SB 6074 Make Document Recording Fees permanent — HB 2368, SB 6313 Pass the Certificate of Restoration of Opportunity — HB 2399 Pass the Fair Tenant Screening Act, Part 3 — HB 2537, SB 6291 Protect Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) & Aged, Blind or Disabled (ABD) Fund the Housing Trust Fund At the Coalition’s Homelessness Advocacy 101 workshops this past Saturday, two Legislative Aides shared with us the “secret” to getting heard in Olympia: tell Legislators that you care, a simple message about why you care, and do it in a way that’s easiest for you. Nancy Amidei, cheerleader for democracy and our Guest Presenter at the workshops, echoed that sentiment, saying that one doesn’t have to be an expert or have a Ph.D. to be an advocate. Whether you want to send an advocacy postcard, e-mail your Legislators, leave a message through the Legislative Hotline (1-800-562-6000), or head down to Olympia to meet in-person, your …

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 …