October 15, 2020 General Membership Meeting

by
Video timestamps found in YouTube video description.

Agenda

9:00 Welcome
9:10 Statewide Eviction Moratorium Update
9:20 Member Updates
9:40 November Ballet Overview
10:10 City of Seattle and other King County Advocacy Work
10:25 Coalition Staff Updates

Agenda Highlights

Statewide Eviction Moratorium Update

On Thursday October 8, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced that the temporary moratorium on evictions will be extended through the end of 2020, with no additional loopholes or exemptions. John Stovall with the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance thanked us for the statewide advocacy push that made this possible and encouraged us to send a thank you message to the Governors office using this link. The Housing Alliance also wants to gather stories of people who have faced challenges keeping their housing because of COVID-19. If you or someone you know has a story to share, please consider filling out this form.

Health Through Housing Campaign

We have a big, exciting opportunity to create emergency homes for 2,000 people experiencing chronic homelessness in our community. On Tuesday October 13, the King County Council voted 8-1 in favor of the Health through Housing proposal. If you’re a King County resident, send a personalized thank you message to your King County Councilmember and Executive Dow Constantine urging them to focus this new one tenth of one cent sales tax revenue on housing people with the lowest incomes, who have disabilities and have been homeless for far too long. Thank you to those of you who took action, please send a follow-up note to ensure that Health through Housing is dedicated to supportive housing with behavioral health services for people at or below 30% AMI. We need to keep a strong focus on making true regional progress on chronic homelessness.

Coalition Member Updates 

  • Hopelink Financial Empowerment Training Pt. II: The Coalition in partnership with Hopelink are offering a series of monthly mini-trainings to explore the Your Money, Your Goals (YMYG) toolkit. We plan to take a closer look at topics such as how to discuss finances, setting financial goals, earning income while maintaining public benefit eligibility and dynamic budgeting. This series will create space for direct service providers to share experiences using the Toolkit with those they serve. Check out prior workshop sessions here, and register for part two in the series: Setting Goals, on Wednesday October 28 at 11am. 
  • Mockingbird Society Speaker Series. This fall, The Mockingbird Society is excited to invite you to a three-part speaker series: Through the Lens of Lived Experience. Taking place on Oct. 1st, 15th, and Nov. 12th at 7:20pm on YouTube Live, the series features 15-20min conversations with transformative leaders. Their insights and stories will highlight why lived experience is so critical in the work to transform foster care and end youth homelessness. Click here to register for the entire speaker series, and you’ll get the connection details for each conversation 24 hours in advance.
  • Bellevue Lifespring Emergency Assistance Program: Families with children who live in Bellevue or send their children to the Bellevue School District may qualify for rent or move-in costs assistance through a new emergency assistance program. Click here for more information (Spanish version here).

November Ballot Overview: What You Need to Know Before November 3

  • Yes on Prop 1 King County: Whether serving its mission to care for the most vulnerable, or as the teaching hospital for future doctors, or as the state’s only Level 1 trauma and burn center – The Harborview Medical Center serves us all.  If King County Proposition 1 is approved, the 20-year bond will provide health and safety improvements at Harborview, including increasing critical health care capacity, updating and expanding modern infection control standards, and expanding capacity for behavioral health needs. Click here to learn more.
  • Yes on Transit Seattle, Prop 1 City of Seattle: While the pandemic has many of us at home, bus service remains a vital lifeline for seniors, people with disabilities, those experiencing homelessness and essential workers. City of Seattle Proposition 1 funds more than 150,000 prioritized transit service hours a year for the next six years that will have to be cut if this measure fails. Seattle Prop 1 also supports access programs for our low-income neighbors, including free passes for public high school students and programs for essential workers, seniors, and public housing residents. Our neighbors are counting on these affordability programs now more than ever. Click here to learn more, and help us get the word out by using this media toolkit.
  • Yes on R-90: Young people deserve quality sex education. State that have adopted comprehensive sex education curriculum have observed decreases in unplanned pregnancies and STI transmission rates. Comprehensive sex education gives LGBT+ youth the opportunity to see their identify reflected positively in school curriculum, and promotes racial equity within our school system. Information about anatomy, healthy relationships and consent is a protective factor against sexual assault and gender based violence. It is for these reasons and more that the State Legislature adopted this updated curriculum, which is now before voters for final approval. Click here to learn more. If you have experienced sexual assault and need support, or if you would like more information about sexual violence, call King County Sexual Assault Resource Center’s 24-hour Resource Line at 888.99.VOICE (888.998.6423) or visit https://www.kcsarc.org/gethelp
  • Yes on King County Charter Amendment 2: King County owns a significant amount of surplus property, you can see just how much by reviewing this mapping tool. The state legislature changed state law to enable these properties to be made available at a lower price for affordable housing. Old language in the County Charter is, however, inconsistent with the amended state law and requires sale at higher prices. King County Charter Amendment 2 if approved will allow the sale of certain surplus properties at a lower price when the property is to be used for affordable housing, eliminating one of the biggest cost drivers to building affordable homes. Click here to learn more.

Voter Registration and Voting Rights Refresher Training

We are thrilled to introduce Saleena Salango, our new Coalition Advocacy Coordinator who previewed an upcoming virtual training series for those interested in helping people experiencing homelessness register to vote. The Coalition engages in non-partisan voter registration and education work. We advocate to expand voting rights, strengthen democracy, and ensure that all members of our community actively participate at every level of government. These sessions are primarily for service providers who will help people who are or were homeless or unstably housed register to vote, know their voting rights, and vote. If you are an individual volunteer who has been part of previous Coalition voter registration activities, this will be a refresher, as well as a chance to learn crucial updates about voting during COVID-19 and election resources for November 3, 2020. For those who have not been part of previous Coalition voter registration activities who wish to volunteer with us, this training is required. Click here to register.

We are hosting this training on two dates. You only need to attend one training. 

  • Tuesday, 10/20 at 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
  • Thursday, 10/22 at 12 – 1 p.m.

Visit the Coalition’s voter registration website for information and resources.

Coalition Staff Updates 

Flu Vaccinations: The Healthcare for the Homeless Network wants you to know how to secure flu vaccinations for those you serve. A current and updated list of upcoming vaccination events can be found here. You can also request a flu vaccine visit to your program by emailing vaccineteam@kingcounty.gov

Annual Subsidized Pass Pilot: Sound Transit and King County Metro are launching a pilot program to provide ORCA cards to low income King County residents. The Annual Subsidized Pass functions like an ORCA LIFT card that can be offered free of charge. This pass will be available to residents of King, Pierce and Snohomish County whose income is at or below 80 percent of the Federal Poverty Limit and who qualify for specific state and federal public benefit programs. This pilot will be administered by Catholic Community Services, Seattle / King County Public Health Department and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). Click here for more information. 

Overdose Response Webinar, Wednesday October 21 from 2:30 – 4pm: The University of Washington Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI)  is partnering with the King County Recovery Coalition, Washington Department of Health, Public Health-Seattle & King County, and a few WA State syringe exchange partners to host a webinar: Overdose Response During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Webinar topics will include: Why overdose risk may be higher during the pandemic, statewide data on overdose deaths and trends, recovery and relapse prevention, and overdose response and naloxone distribution. Experts from Washington State syringe exchange programs will discuss how the pandemic has affected the people they work with, and how their programs have adapted. Click here to register.

City of Seattle Immigrant Relief Fund: On Thursday, October 15, 2020, the City of Seattle will launch the $7.94 million Seattle COVID-19 Disaster Relief Fund for Immigrants, its newest program to help vulnerable residents who have been both financially impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and purposely excluded by the federal government. Eligible individuals and families have until Thursday November 5, Click here to apply.

  • The application will only be available as an online form, and 20 organizations will be available to help applicants over the phone and in-language. The online application will be available in seven languages other than English: Amharic, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Somali, Spanish, Tagalog/Filipino, and Vietnamese. 
  • The relief fund is open to immigrants who: Live in OR attend school in OR work within the Seattle city boundaries, AND meet income eligibility requirements, AND were ineligible for federal CARES Act Economic Impact Payments (also known as a “coronavirus stimulus check”). 
  • The review process is NOT first-come, first-served. To support those with the most need, the program is prioritizing applicants based on a set of vulnerability criteria. Each eligible adult applicant filing for themselves can receive a one-time payment of $1,000. Applicants with children are eligible to receive a one-time payment of up to $3,000.