Single Adults Advocacy Committee – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

King County 2016 Men’s Winter Shelters for 150 Beds – Extended Until Further Notice

June 9, 2016 by Alison Eisinger

King County Winter Response Shelters 2016 Men’s Winter Shelters for 150 Beds – Extended Until Further Notice Every year we advocate for more shelter and expanded shelter hours. Your advocacy in the fall helped open the 420 4th ave shelter (Zombie Building) for 50 beds, now spread the word that these 150 beds are open until further notice! See details below, PRINT & POST THIS PDF, and contact Janice Hougen with any questions. King County Men’s Winter Shelter – 500 4th Avenue Open Every Until Further Notice Location: King County Administration Building – 500 4th Avenue Downtown Seattle (Between Jefferson and James) Operator: The Salvation Army Capacity: 100 men Hours: 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM Access: Line up for the shelter in front of the loading dock garage door at the corner of 4th and Jefferson. King County Men’s Winter Shelter – 420 4th Avenue (Pets Welcomed) Open Every Night Until Further Notice Location: 420 4th Avenue, Seattle (Between Jefferson and James) Operator: The Salvation Army Capacity: 50 Men Hours: 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM Access: Line up for the shelter in front of the loading dock garage door at the corner of 4th and Jefferson. Contact: Please contact Janice Hougen with King County Community Services Division at 206-263-9089 or janice.hougen@kingcounty.gov for further information. PDF Version of Flyer

Recap: Single Adults Advocacy Committee 11/12/15 meeting: Employment Opportunities with the Diversity Initiative

November 20, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

At our last Single Adults Advocacy Committee meeting, we were joined by Sarah Rothman, Diversity Business Partner with the Northwest Center at Amazon. The Northwest Center seeks to create a pathway to employment by breaking down barriers, and Sarah works to connect people with disabilities to quality employment through the diversity initiative. Everyone who is referred to the Northwest Center will be offered an interview with Sarah to determine a best fit for them and the potential employer. After interviews, Sarah provides next-step actions for the candidate, including interview and agency feedback. Employment opportunities through the Northwest Center often involve customer service experience, and include cashier, mailroom, food service, and reception positions, among others. More information on open positions can be found on the Northwest Center’s website. The Northwest Center and Sarah welcome referrals from service providers. Please reach out to Sarah if you would like more information regarding the initiative programs or to refer a client! You can reach Sarah at srothman[at]amazon[dot]com. Thanks again, Sarah! Member updates from the meeting: Hayden Bass, Outreach Program Manager with the Seattle Public Library: the Seattle Public Library is seeking to connect their programs with existing community organizations. Email Hayden at hayden[dot]bass[at]spl[dot]org to learn about the Library’s current outreach or to seek expansion with your organization. Coalition updates from the meeting: 2016 will be a year of case manager trainings: If you’re interested in participating in a small workgroup or committee for planning these 3-4 trainings, be on the lookout for applications coming out in the next couple of months. One Night Count is kicking into gear: Learn about the different ways to get involved on our website. Area Leads are in the process of contacting past team captains to confirm their participation for 2016 ONC. Take ACTION!: On Tuesday, the City of Seattle Councilmembers voted unanimously to add $2.265 million to the City’s …

Recap: SAAC June Meeting: VA TriWest Homeless Women Veteran Initiative

June 17, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

Susan Christ joined the Single Adults Advocacy Committee to talk about the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) new program in partnership with TriWest Healthcare Alliance. This program is a public-private partnership that will connect women Veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless with meaningful, stable employment. Here’s what Susan shared about the program! In partnership with VA, TriWest Healthcare Alliance identifies employment opportunities by working closely with female Veterans with children to match their interests and skills with employers who value these qualities and recognize that our nation’s Veterans are ideal job candidates. Our benefits advisors will meet any referred veteran in the community or at a partner organization’s facility to obtain necessary referral information and begin services to the veteran. Through a public/private partnership between the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and TriWest Healthcare Alliance, we can assist female veterans with a variety of services and benefits Services include but are not limited to: Assistance with obtaining military records Connecting eligible veterans with healthcare, housing and compensation or pension benefits Job coaching Placement with partner employers who have committed to supporting the TriWest Homeless Women Veterans Initiative Peer mentor support after job placement to ensure job retention Close coordination with local employers to identify opportunities One-on-one, specialized interaction with female Veterans to assess skills and employment goals Continued services by VA including housing assistance and healthcare Referral Information: View the referral form, request for release of information and initiative fact sheet. Susan Christ mentioned that you may not have all of the information requested on the referral form, but it is fine to just fill in what information you do have and make the referral, they can fill in the blanks as they work with the veterans. Also, the release of information form can be obtained from the veteran by …

Guest Post by Tyler Roush: One Night Count reveals a heartbreaking 3,772 living without shelter in King County

March 1, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

This reflection on the 2015 One Night Count was originally published on the Compass Housing Alliance website. Tyler Roush is the communications manager for Compass Housing Alliance and was also an action team member on the One Night Count in the Southwest King County Headquarters. They were counted huddled in a doorway or in a tent beneath a freeway overpass. Sleeping in a car parked in the lot of a sprawling retail store or riding a bicycle, their possessions slung to one side. In the early morning hours of Friday, Jan. 23, volunteers with the One Night Count filtered through areas of Seattle and King County where homeless people are known to sleep. What they found would break hearts. In just three hours, volunteers organized by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness counted 3,772 people living without shelter in King County, a shocking 21 percent increase from last year’s total. (Due to the nature of the count, results are always assumed to be underreported.) The number is stark evidence of the need for more services for those who are homeless. The survey area did expand this year to both previously included and new areas in the Southwest King County region. The Coalition organized the expansion in partnership with the King County Housing Authority (KCHA), which hosted volunteers at its headquarters in Tukwila. About 35 volunteers, many of them KCHA employees, began to gather shortly before 2 a.m. to meet up with their team leads, collect maps of their survey area and discuss ground rules. In the three short hours ahead, they would be tasked with counting the people living without shelter in their area. Mark Abernathy and Chris Clevenger, both KCHA employees, were participating for the first time. Their survey area took them along a heavily trafficked stretch of highway, where people are known to sleep in their …

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 …

2014 Coalition Recap: What a great year!

February 16, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

As the Coalition on Homelessness is poised for another big year we invite you to reflect on the work you have helped the Coalition complete in 2014. If you would like to become a member (as an organization or individual), please find our membership information here. Join us to advance our shared mission: ensuring safety and survival for people who are homeless, and working collaboratively to end the crisis of homelessness in our region. Project Cool for Back-to School 2014 helped 1,373 homeless students start the school year right with new backpacks, school supplies, and dental kits. We’re preparing for Project Cool 2015, and continuing to move beyond the backpacks, connecting advocacy with service! We organized and mobilized over 1,100 people and dozens of organizational partners to carry out the 2015 One Night Count of people who are homeless outside. We documented 3,772 people outside overnight ~ a shocking but not surprising increase of 21% over last year. Within a week we brought the results to Olympia with our Ring out for Revenue and Roofs action. We ensure that these results inform and inspire action year-round. Our two years of advocacy for a low income Metro fare paid off: the OrcaLIFT program launched March 1, 2015! OrcaLIFT is the broadest, deepest public transit access program in the U.S., allowing people earning up to 200% of FPL to ride for half-price. Six Coalition member agencies are helping sign up riders! Visit www.orcalift.com for eligibility and location information. Four times a month, our General Membership and Population Committee meetings serve as lively and collegial forums for Coalition members to talk through timely issues and common problems and collaborate to find practical solutions. Our workshops on Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 and Beyond the One Night Count provided over 200 people with tools to …

Severe Weather Shelter in King County

November 24, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Updated Severe Weather Shelter locations around King County can be found below. Please note that other Winter Shelters are also opened nightly and Severe Weather Shelters (listed below) are usually open when the weather is below freezing. Please visit the Crisis Clinic Resource Talk Shelter page to see the most updated list of Winter Shelters around the county as well as information about Severe Weather Shelters. This post will be frequently updated with the most recent information. If you know of new or updated information please contact hillary[at]homelessinfo[dot]org. _________________________________________________________________________ SEVERE WEATHER SHELTERS – Updated 1/5/2014 Please share information about severe weather shelters with your clients and the community. Check back for frequent updates about openings. Information can also be found here. SEATTLE: Severe Weather Shelter – Print This Flyer Location: Seattle Center Rainier Room: 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, 98109 (next to Key Arena) Date & Time: Closed The emergency shelter serves men and women over the age of 18 and is operated by Salvation Army Staff. The Rainier Room at the Seattle Center is located at 305 Harrison Street just to the north of Key Arena. This shelter is open access. Referral forms are NOT required. AUBURN: Veteran’s Memorial Park Location: William C. Warren Building: 405 E St NE, Auburn, 98002 Date & Time: Closed Phone: (253) 876 – 1925 Les Gove Overnight Shelter Location: Les Gove Multipurpose Building: 1024 Deals Way, Auburn, 98002 (between Auburn Senior Activity Center and Auburn Library) Date & Time: Closed Phone: (253) 876 – 1925 KENT: Kent Lutheran Church Location: 336 2nd Ave S, Kent, 98032 Date & Time: Closed Phone: (253) 856 – 5070 FEDERAL WAY: New Hope Christian Fellowship Location: 31411 6th Ave S, Federal Way, 98003 Date & Time: Closed Phone: (253) 269 – 6585 RENTON: Cold Weather Shelter Location: …

Take Action Now: Tell Councilmembers people need Safe, Indoor places to stay

November 12, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Check out this article with a Call to Action from Alison Eisinger to contact your councilmembers today! Councilmembers vote on the budget this week and need to hear from you. Scroll down for messaging. As Winter Approaches, A Push for More Shelter: Deborah Wang, KUOW In 2005, housing advocates in King County announced a plan to end homelessness within a decade. Since then, the community has produced 5,600 units of permanent housing for the homeless, more than anywhere in the U.S. except New York and Los Angeles. This year alone, more than 2,000 formerly homeless people have moved into permanent housing. Despite those improvements, and even as the economy booms in the region, the homeless population continues to inch higher. “Last year, we had 10,000 households that were homeless in King County and 5,000 of them were newly homeless,” said Mark Putnam, director of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County. This year’s One Night Count of homeless people found 3,123 people living outside, a 14 percent increase over 2013. At the same time, 6,171 homeless people lived in shelters or transitional housing. The reason? The fast rising rents, low vacancies and high cost of living in the Seattle area have pushed more people to live in their cars or on the streets, according to advocates. Some are newly arrived residents who were drawn to the area by the booming economy. “I’ve heard many a story of people that thought moving here with a couple thousand dollars would be enough for them to get on their feet, find a job settle and kind of settle in, and it’s not,” said Putnam. Putnam said housing advocates will be asking state lawmakers to put $100 million more into the housing trust fund in the next budget. That pays for the construction of …

Single Adults Advocacy Committee: Report back from 25 Cities Initiative + Coordinated Entry for Single Adults

October 23, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

The most recent Single Adults Advocacy Committee meeting on Thursday, October 9 was focused on our community’s involvement in the national 25 Cities Initiative, designed to reduce homelessness among veterans and people who are chronically homeless. With that included how ’25 Cities’ relates to coordinated entry for single adults, and how we can be good informants and advocates as these policies, programs, and budgets are developed. Kelli Larsen, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Plymouth and a Design Team member for the 25 Cities Initiative, led us in conversation. Here’s a brief report of what was discussed… The 25 Cities Initiative is in the twenty-five cities where Veteran Homelessness is highest. Goal is to end homelessness, and, locally, we know that a single solution – just increase housing, or just coordinate the stock we have – is not enough. Within this goal is a focus on creating and implementing a single adults coordinated entry, much like has happened with families (Family Housing Connection) and youth (Youth Housing Connection). This is not an easy, straightforward or simple task: the single adults population is much, much larger and still very diverse. Officially, the four principles guiding this complex coordinated entry process are: (1) assess, (2) assist, (3), match, and (4) place. More loosely, leads on this project want to ensure that the system they create and implement is simple, meets real needs, and has true benefits (that eclipse any inherent negatives). An example of the complexity is that it is not possible to screen thousands of single adults who are homeless, and perform regular check-ins. Our community has learned (and is still learning a lot) from the successes, complications, and frustrations associated with YHC and FHC. Plus, we want to be sure to coordinate the coordination that already exists. SAAC explored important elements of a coordinated entry system for single adults, as …

Single Adults Advocacy Committee: 25 Cities Initiative + Coordinated Entry for Single Adults

October 8, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

This is your friendly reminder that our Single Adults Advocacy Committee meets this Thursday, October 9 at 12-noon at the Plymouth’s Simons Apartments at 2119 3rd Ave (downtown Seattle), 2nd floor conference room. We are thrilled to be joined by Kelli Larsen, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Plymouth and a Design Team member for the 25 Cities Initiative, who will share what is under discussion related to our community’s involvement in the national 25 Cities Initiative, designed to reduce homelessness among veterans and people who are chronically homeless. This includes how ’25 Cities’ relates to coordinated entry for single adults, and how we can be good informants and advocates as these policies, programs, and budgets are developed. Prior to the meeting, please do the following: Review the Vulnerability Index & Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SPDAT) so that you can provide your important feedback; Brainstorm your ideas about ways to improve the system that serves single adults who are homeless; And think through the ways in which a single adults coordinated entry system will be similar and different from the coordinated systems for youth and families. We hope to see you there! Shree Vigil & Mercedes Elizalde Single Adults Advocacy Committee Co-Chairs Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness