Transportation – Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Blog

Sound Transit to vote on Low-Income fare 11/19/2015

November 17, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

Sound Transit is on the brink of voting on whether or not to implement a low-income fare for their system. The Coalition on Homelessness has joined with Transportation Choices Coalition, OneAmerica, Puget Sound Sage, Futurwise, the Housing Development Consortium, and Transit Riders Union in support of the expansion of the ORCA LIFT program to all routes in Snohomish, Pierce, and King Counties, as well as implementing a low-income fare on the Sounder Train. Check out our joint letter! There are mutiple fare change options being discussed and you can view more details here. We support the option that implements a low-income fare for ALL routes in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. Additionally, we support having a low-income fare on the Sounder train. Read Hillary’s public comment below and make sure to read our joint letter to the Sound Transit board here. The Sound Transit Board will vote on Thursday 11/19/2015. Public comment is technically closed but you can view the results of public comment here. There will also be public comment taken at the Board Meeting 11/19/2015 at the Ruth Fisher Boardroom at Union Station (401 S. Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104). Here is what Hillary shared at the public hearing on November 5: Hello, my name is Hillary Coleman, Mobilization Coordinator at the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, and here today on behalf of our Coalition’s member organizations to encourage you to serve Sound Transit riders across the entire system by expanding ORCA LIFT to reach riders in King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties. We are thrilled to see Sound Transit poised to take this very positive step to make transit more affordable and accessible to current and new riders. I echo much of what has been shared both in comments today, and in the joint letter from Transportation Choices Coalition, OneAmerica, Puget …

Two opportunities to make sure the voices of our homeless and low income community are heard: Tent Cities & Transportation in Seattle.

March 25, 2015 by Alison Eisinger

Share your thoughts and input about Transportation Levy to MOVE SEATTLE! Last week, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray introduced Move Seattle, his ten-year transportation vision that integrates our plans for transit, walking, biking, and freight. We encourage you to check out the information on the proposal, take this online survey, and attend one of three community conversations to share your input. Saturday, March 28, 10am – 12pm at New Holly Gathering Hall: 7054 32nd Ave S, Seattle, WA 98118 Monday, March 30, 6pm – 8pm at Roosevelt High School: 1410 NE 66th St, Seattle, WA 98115 Tuesday, March 31, 6pm – 8pm at West Seattle High School: 3000 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116 Read all about the proposed levy and stay up to date here. Seattle City Council to vote on Homeless Tent City Ordinance on Monday, March 30. A zoning ordinance to permit transitional tent cities for individuals experiencing homelessness on Seattle City-owned or private property was recently passed out of the Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Sustainability Committee and will come to vote by the Full Seattle City Council this Monday, March 30 at 2.00 p.m. (This proposal is based on Councilmember Nick Licata’s original legislation from two years ago, which we helped develop, and has been reworked by Mayor Ed Murray as a result of the recommendations of the Unsheltered Homelessness Task Force this year.) The Coalition supports safety for people who are homeless outside, including organized tent cities, and calls on all members of the Seattle City Council to vote yes and pass the proposed ordinance. Along with our members, we will be present at the City Council meeting to share our collective voice on this important issue. We will also remind City Council members that they must work with Mayor Murray to ensure that he keeps his …

Families with Children Committee: Back-to-school reports and the future of joint FWC-FHI meetings

October 17, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

Our Families with Children (FWC) Committee gathered in September to discuss the future of its new quarterly joint meeting with the Committee to End Homelessness’ Family Homelessness Initiative. They also reported back on the start of the new school year for the students who are homeless that they serve. Here are some brief notes from the discussion: HOW DID START OF SCHOOL GO FOR MCKINNEY-VENTO STUDENTS? Please be sure to e-mail rebecca[at]homelessinfo[dot]org with your back-to-school experience(s). Backlog of enrollment paperwork In Seattle, had students who didn’t go the first 2 days of school because of this. Others said the first two days of school had VERY fast turn-around re: paperwork, but slowed significantly after that. Transportation Reports of buses being 1.5 hours late – A. Moon (Mary’s Place) Reports of taxis being 2 hours late – A.Moon (Mary’s Place) Case Manager said she went above and beyond to verify and confirm – multiple times – that the orders were correct. And still, these delays happened. She even had a taxi with incorrect orders and wouldn’t take the student to the correct school! In West Seattle, it took one week to get a bus to pick up a student. Safety concerns of younger students being assigned ORCA cards instead of a taxi or bus No one reported ORCA card issues (e.g., then not being loaded) Multiple people reported having concerns and questions around the 1-mile rule (i.e., no transportation, must walk). Case Manager said that 2-mile rule for homeless families who live in Queen Anne is quite difficult. There is a much greater impact of this rule for families who are homeless Proactive and flexible engagement from Liaison Liaison w/ Lowel (school) came to provider to talk through McK-V and connect with families. SUPER HELPFUL In class/Teacher issues Parent said middle-school aged son was marked down …

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 …

Recap: Coalition’s General Meeting – December 19, 2013

January 10, 2014 by Alison Eisinger

As we were bidding farewell to 2013, Alison and I discussed what we’d like 2014 to look like for the Coalition’s Everyone Counts blog. One idea that we’re running with is to post a recap after every General Member Meeting. 2013 was a great year for our Coalition, and one we want to build off of in 2014. So, here to ring in this New Year with our new tradition is a Recap of December’s General Member meeting. 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, January 16, 2014. __________________ Seattle Final Budget News & Thank You to Mayor Mike McGinn Our friends at the Seattle Human Services Coalition’s handout highlights our HUGE win with the City of Seattle Budget process: an additional investment of $6,891,219! Out-going Mayor Mike McGinn and Jerry DeGrieck, Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor McGinn, came to receive the Coalition’s sincerest Thank You for their leadership and commitment to Seattle residents over the past four years, and also for his strong support of the Coalition’s budget recommendations this past year. Mayor McGinn shared his heartfelt thanks to the Coalition and its members for all of our advocacy, and encouraged us to keep it up. 2014 Legislative Session Preview Robin Zukoski of Columbia Legal Services (CLS) provided background and an overview about the upcoming Legislative Session. Ben Miksch of Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) shared with us WLIHA’s 2014 State Legislative Agenda. Carrie Dolwick of Transportation Choices Coalition shared the status of Transportation policy at the …