Public policy – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

November 18th, 2021 Membership Meeting

December 9, 2021November 4, 2021 by Jody Rauch

Thank you to all who attended our November Membership meeting. We look forward to seeing you and sharing space at our December 16th Membership meeting which includes our 2022 Legislative Preview! This meeting will be two hours from 9am-11am The Coalition on Homelessness is hiring! This is the CORE position of OFFICE MANAGER at the Coalition. Thanks for getting this out to your networks. A full position description, salary range, and how to apply are on our website and here: http://bit.ly/CoalitionJob2021 Help us find a person who likes to set up systems and keep them in good working order, who relishes solving problems, and who sees the beauty in being the behind-the-scenes backbone of our small & mighty team and our broad & diverse community.*Priority application deadline: December 8, 2021.* COVID Vaccine Updates COVID-19 Vaccine Booster doses: Pfizer, Moderna, and the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines offer great protection against severe disease, hospitalization, and death. However, studies have shown that over time protection against mild and moderate disease can decrease. Booster doses are recommended for anyone 18 years of age and older who are at least 2 months past their single dose of Johnson & Johnson and for some groups of people who received either Moderna or Pfizer and are at least 6 months past their second dose. Learn more at Seattle King County Public Health. Check out the Seattle King County Public Health Blog: Public Health Insider for tips on COVID and the holiday season. Read past blog posts for lots of great information on COVID and how to stay safe. Advocacy Priorities Inflation Adjustment: If you live or work in Seattle: City of Seattle budget will be finalized on Monday, 11/22. We have a foundational ask which is the 2.8% inflation adjustment. Email your Councilmembers today to say …

Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy Renewal and Expansion: Advocacy Needed!

February 17, 2021June 12, 2017 by Alison Eisinger

For over a decade, the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (formerly known as the Vets and Human Services Levy) has funded critical healthcare, supports, and housing for our neighbors who need them most, along with domestic violence, public health, and other services. Executive Constantine recently transmitted a strong proposal to King County Council, expanding the levy to be 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Now we need to urge King County Council members to BUILD ON and INCREASE that proposal, and place it on the November 7, 2017 ballot. People like YOU can help make this happen! Take Liz Werley-Prieto as an example. Liz is the Project Manager of shelter programs at DESC who spoke at the conference on June 1st. Liz eloquently addressed how the importance of funding the levy is born out through the interactions between service providers and those they serve. Read Liz’s testimony then take action using this link and information below! Read Liz’s testimony here from May 31, 2017 at King County Council: My name is Liz and I work as the Project Manager of DESC’s shelter program, located right across the street. Since January first, the shelter program registered more than 800 homeless clients seeking shelter who had not interacted with DESC’s services before. Almost without exception, the primary need expressed by these individuals was a place to live, and as service providers we have had to set the expectation again and again that getting a home will almost certainly be a long and difficult process, or that it might not happen at all. Being homeless has an impact on the mental and physical health of a population already disproportionately affected by disabling conditions. For those of us working in social services, the urgency of having funding at or above the level proposed by Dow Constantine for …

Voting for the first time at 63: “I felt like I was a part of society.”

February 17, 2021November 7, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

Dennis first connected with the Coalition on Homelessness on our bus to Housing and Homelessness advocacy day 2016 in Olympia. He then attended our first Beyond the One Night Count Advocacy 101 workshop and said it changed his life and that he was amazed by how easy advocacy could be; he came to the second workshop later that week and shared his story of calling the legislative hotline in Olympia and how easy it was to speak up for issues he cared about! Since then, Dennis has been trained in voter registration and is an active volunteer for both Voter Registration and Project Cool. He helped us get out the vote this November to make sure people knew how to turn in their ballots, and also voted for the first time. Dennis wrote these powerful and moving words about his experience. Thank you Dennis for reminding us why we do the work we do! Dennis’ Powerful Message About Voting: After working with Hillary Coleman this election year, learning how to register people to vote and helping them with information on where to cast their ballots and how to put the envelopes together to mail out, I finally, at the age of 63 voted for the first time. I had lost my right to vote in 1968 because of a felony, and was supervised by the department of corrections until 2012. That is a long story in itself. What I would like to share is the feeling of dropping the ballot into the ballot box today. I had this very new and strange feeling like I finally belonged to something. I felt like I was a part of society. That my vote does count, and I do have a right to vote. My self-esteem shot straight up, I felt like I had meaning and my …

One Response to the Proposed White Center Shelter

September 20, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

King County is considering opening a new shelter at the former Public Health Clinic in White Center. This shelter will provide space for 70 people – single adults and couples – as well as pets. It’s hours will be from 5pm – 8am, including dinner and breakfast. The shelter will also have case management services. Learn more about it at this link. A community meeting was hosted on September 15th, 2016, the minutes for the meeting can be found here, a video of the meeting is on the White Center Now Blog. After the meeting community member, Stephanie Endres wrote the following friendly letter to her fellow White Center community members, which she agreed to let us share (You can print and sign a postcard in support of the shelter, share with your community and mail signed postcards to Coalition on Homelessness, 77 S. Washington Street, Seattle, WA 98104 – we’ll take them to King County Executive Dow Constantine and Council Chair Joe McDermott). Here’s Stephanie’s message: My name is Stephanie and I am a Homeless Outreach Case Manager in Seattle. I grew up in White Center. I’ve gone to Mt. View Presbyterian Church since I was a child, where I also attended youth group. I’ve been involved and volunteered for nonprofits founded in White Center; I attend and support events in the neighborhood year round I volunteer within the White Center community. I also run a nonprofit that I founded in 2011 that does outreach to homeless individuals in King County. As I heard in the community meeting last night, most of you are concerned about a new shelter in your neighborhood. You are clearly concerned about the children in the neighborhood. You’re afraid of sex offenders or drug users being a danger to you in your homes, schools, and …

Volunteer Days are over for 2016, but you can help make back-to-school cool throughout the year!

July 18, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

These are Katherine’s reflections on Project Cool 2016: Last Wednesday, a volunteer placed the final Project Cool backpack into a case manager’s van and I began to reflect on this year’s Project Cool Volunteer Days. As we transition to the next phase of Project Cool, I am able to appreciate Project’s Cool full year cycle and the breadth of people and communities the program touches. We have enjoyed each Project Cool volunteer day, and I feel lucky to have organized, packed and inventoried supplies alongside such fantastic volunteers! As we look forward to the next few months and connecting to community members through supply drives (want to host one where you work or play? Contact Hillary – hillary[at]homelessinfo[dot]org), we know that 1,417 colorful backpacks will enter the first days of school swung over the shoulders of students ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade. Having only joined the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness a few weeks ago, I entered my first volunteer day with enthusiasm, excitement, and a bit of nervous anticipation of the amount of work to be accomplished in just a week. I could not wait to see the weeks of donation and volunteer coordination I had supported, as well as the year-long effort Hillary and Julia contributed to Project Cool, come to bloom! My expectations were surpassed and my qualms eased by the awesome volunteers that arrived with enthusiasm for each shift. I feel hopeful for the future of the children that Project Cool serves after discussing many volunteers’ commitment to ending homelessness. Over the past week I learned more fully how raising a child can require mobilization from an entire community. Participants demonstrated how volunteering quickly builds community amongst initial strangers. Participants bonded over their passion for service to form productive, fun work teams. For many of …

Transit Riders Union Human Services Bus Ticket Campaign

April 29, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

The Transit Riders Union (TRU) is organizing to ensure that everyone in our community can access transit options, especially with the recent expansion of the Light Rail and subsequent changes to some bus service. As a reminder, the ORCA LIFT low-income fare is now available for anyone in King, Snohomish, or Pierce county who makes less than 200% of the federal poverty limit ($23,760 for a household of 1, $40,320 for a household of 3). Visit www.orcalift.com for more information! The following information was shared at our April 21 General Membership meeting, and prepared as a guest blog post by Katie Wilson, General Secretary of TRU. PDF version here. Human Services Bus Ticket Campaign progress report & call to action April 25, 2016 Progress! The problem: Toward the end of last year TRU started realizing that the expansion of Link Light Rail and the Metro bus service restructure would raise barriers for people who use bus tickets, since the tickets and paper transfers are not accepted as proof of payment on light rail. The pressure: After a letter and meetings with councilmembers produced inconclusive results, we started a petition and announced a public action for April 16th. The KC Exec’s office quickly got in touch to tell us they were working on a solution. The solution: This “combo-ticket” will be available starting mid-June, at a cost $11 for a booklet of 10. (It is priced at 20% of the value of the bus tickets, with no extra cost for the light rail pass.) It will also be possible to swap out tickets already purchased. Until then, King County Metro has said that if organizations purchase Sound Transit Link day passes at $1 each, they will throw in twice as many bus tickets for free (Contact: Brandon Banks, brandon.banks@kingcounty.gov, 206-477-6664.) More in the works… Raising the cap: Since we’ve heard from …

Letter to Seattle Office of Civil Rights: Request for Race Equity Analysis of Homeless Sweeps

January 19, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

Read letter from Columbia Legal Services who, joint by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, request that the City of Seattle’s Office of Human Rights “evaluate the City’s procedures and practices of sweeping homeless individuals from their places of shelter to ensure the City makes good on its commitments to race equity and social justice, and to ensure compliance with all applicable civil rights laws.” View PDF of letter here. Read the following letter and press release from December as well: Homeless Sweeps Exacerbate Problem: Letter to Mayor Ed Murray: In December, together with Columbia Legal Services and the ACLU of WA, the Coalition wrote to Seattle’s Mayor Murray detailing our concerns about the harmful effects of recent sweeps of people who are homeless outside.

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 …

Thank you for helping us win $2.265 million investment to #BringPeopleInsideNOW: 902 signatures on petition!

December 2, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

The following message was shared with 902 people who signed our Change.org petition calling on Seattle City Council to invest $2.265 to Bring People Inside Thank you as well to everyone who sent emails, made calls and signed postcards. Together we won! We’ll continue to need your help to make sure the money is used to bring people inside as soon as possible. Thank You! $2.265M invested to #BringPeopleInsideNOW Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH) Dec 2, 2015 — Dear advocates who signed our petition to #BringPeopleInsideNOW, Thank you for your signature and support of the Seattle/King County on Homelessness’ and Seattle Councilmember Nick Licata’s proposal to allocate an additional $2.265 million for shelter and emergency services for people experiencing homelessness. On 11/16/2015, the Seattle City Council voted unanimously to do just that; $2.265 million from General Funds has been allocated and was part of the 2016 City of Seattle budget signed yesterday by the Mayor! You helped show the support of the community, and councilmembers in City Hall heard the message loud and clear: we need to bring more people inside now. The Coalition on Homelessness will continue to work closely with City Council and member organizations to make sure that we get people inside as quickly as possible. The success of the $2.265 million depends on your continued support and help in encouraging City Council and the City of Seattle to bring people inside now by using funds for shelter and services as recommended by the Coalition on Homelessness. We hope you’ll continue to take action with the Coalition. If you haven’t already, please sign up for the Coalition’s Action Alerts and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@Homeless2Housed). Thanks again and keep up the great advocacy! -The Coalition team P.S. We sent Thank You Postcards to Seattle City …

Seattle City Council votes to dedicate $2.265M to #BringPeopleInsideNOW, influenced by Coalition organizing

November 17, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

Yesterday, November 17, 2015, the Seattle City Council Budget Committee voted 8-0 to add $2.265 million to the City’s budget as a one-time allocation to address the crisis of homelessness. These funds will be intended to provide new and expanded shelter beds, extended day center services, maintenance of skilled outreach services to vulnerable homeless adults, support of authorized encampments, and child care for homeless children. The Green Sheet (Council’s process of changing the Mayor’s proposed budget) can be viewed here, specifies that the $2.265 million will come from the City’s General Subfund, and outlines the process for spending the money. The Coalition’s list of recommendations for new shelter, extended hours & increased capacity, and crucial services was included as an attachment to the Green Sheet. The final budget vote is next Monday (11/23). We will now work closely with the City to ensure that these funds are put into action as soon as possible to bring people inside quickly. Your Advocacy made a HUGE difference! Thanks to EVERYONE for calling, mailing postcards, e-mailing, signing our petition (400+ signatures!), and showing up at multiple City Council meetings to share your powerful examples of why we must ‪#‎BringPeopleInsideNOW‬. Please join us in THANKING all City Councilmembers via e-mail, with SPECIAL THANKS to Nick Licata for shepherding this proposal through the budget process. Stay tuned for more opportunities to take action! If you haven’t already, please sign up for the Coalition’s Action Alerts and follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@Homeless2Housed). Check out media coverage of the Coalition’s organizing on our website and Facebook. Thank You!