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Homelessness is inextricably linked to racism. In fact,
homelessness can be seen as a symptom of structural racism. In King County,
nearly two thirds of people experiencing homelessness are people and families
of color.
“Homelessness is not a social
issue. It is not a research question to be studied. And it is certainly not a
type of person: someone who ends up on the streets through a series of bad
choices or personal flaws. Instead, homelessness mirrors everything that is
broken in our society. It reflects our biases, our meanness, our lack of
compassion and our views of each other as fellow human beings…”
- Jeff
Olivet, CEO of the Center for Social Innovation
Our strategic plan to make homelessness rare, brief and
one-time in King County also seeks to eliminate racial disparities. We know that
addressing homelessness includes having difficult conversations about race and
that truly ending homelessness will require bold action, from all of us, to
create meaningful change in the lives of individuals experiencing homelessness
in our community. All Home is committed to racial justice and in an effort to
create a culture in which we can talk frankly about race, we invite you, our
partners, to attend an event focused on our continued efforts to end homelessness
and build racial equity:
Save the Date: March 22, 2017 for a Racial Equity &
Homelessness Summit
As part of the All Home Capacity Building Plan,
please join us for this day of learning, discussion and action. While homelessness
is often the breakdown and failure of many systems and safety nets, the
homelessness system can either perpetuate racism or it can disrupt it. Regardless
of your official role or title, you can make an impact to:
- Identify how you
can be an agent of change
- Improve the
quality of services you provide to people of color
- Orient your
organization and programming around racial equity
More details will be shared soon.
 The next All Home Coordinating Board meeting will be held on
Wednesday, March 1st. Full details and materials are
available on the All Home website. All Coordinating Board meetings are open to
the public and allow time at the beginning and end of the agenda for public
comment. Attendance is encouraged.
The Board will be reviewing Quarter 4 data on system-level rare, brief and one-time measures,
overall system performance,
rapid re-housing and Coordinated Entry for All.
The Severe
Weather Shelter will be open WEDNESDAY Night February 22nd
through FRIDAY Night February 24th, at the King County Administration
Building located at 500 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle. The shelter
serves adult men over the age of 18 from 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM.
People may
go directly to the shelter, referral forms are NOT required. The
program is an emergency, mat on floor shelter operated by Salvation Army staff.
For additional information, please call 206-263-9089
during business hours.
 Yesterday, City of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray delivered the
annual State of the
City Address with a focus on homelessness:
“We declared a
state of emergency. We pledged that by the end of this year, we would bring 500
unsheltered families off the streets and indoors. We budgeted 108 million
dollars for homelessness services combined over the last two years, more than
under any mayor in Seattle history. These are big steps. But as anyone can see
from the dystopian scenes on the streets and the disarray on our sidewalks, and
as those who are living in unsafe encampments and outside can attest
themselves: This has not been enough.”
Mayor Murray outlined bold actions to address the
homelessness crisis including:
- Activating the Emergency
Operations Center, traditionally used only during severe storms, major events
and natural disasters, to help the people whose lives have been upended by this
homelessness disaster with urgency and a laser focus to the humanitarian crisis
in our city.
- Doubling the
City of Seattle’s spending on homelessness, raising an additional 55 million
dollars per year, paid for by an increase in the commercial and residential
property tax with an invitation to Seattle City Council to join community
leaders to help qualify this property tax measure for the August ballot.
- A challenge
to
Seattle’s business community to
raise 25 million dollars over the next five years focused on disruptive
innovations that will get more homeless individuals and families into housing.
In addition
to a commitment to the homelessness crisis response system, Mayor Murray emphasized
the importance of housing affordability,
“Last month, Mercy Othello Plaza,
a new affordable housing development near the Othello light rail station,
received nearly 2,100 applications in a lottery for just 108 available units. The
choice to live in Seattle should not be decided by a lottery. We need to build
more housing. And we need to build more affordable housing.”
The Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) sets
the City of Seattle on a path to building
20,000 new affordable homes in the next ten years, three times what would
be expected without these policies. With the doubled Seattle Housing Levy and full passage of the Mandatory
Housing Affordability Program, Seattle is on pace to more than triple their
funding for affordable housing compared to 2012-2013.
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FareStart announced
last week that it is partnering with Amazon to launch an innovative job
training program to help people in entry level foodservice jobs gain additional
skills needed to earn a higher income. Amazon is donating space and equipment
to help the organization launch a new foodservice apprenticeship program to
help people living in poverty obtain higher income jobs. The in-kind donation
will also bring five new eateries to Seattle, which will serve as a training
ground for the new program.
The eateries, which will be located on Amazon’s campus in
the South Lake Union neighborhood at Boren, Thomas, Fairview and Harrison, will
be operated by FareStart and open to the public. There will be a full service
restaurant, three fast casual outlets, a coffee shop and catering venue. They
are expected to open in late summer of 2017.
The Institute of Global Homelessness will hold its second
biennial conference from June 5 – 6, 2017 in Chicago. The conference, Ending
Street Homelessness in your City, seeks to equip attendees with the tools
necessary to drive toward an end to street homelessness. This includes a clear
vision of what an end to street homelessness looks like, strategies for measuring
progress, and approaches to the most difficult political and practical
challenges cities face in working toward this goal. Ending
Street Homelessness in your City will include workshops along three tracks:
(1) goal-setting, measurement and research; (2) approaches to policy and
practice challenges; and (3) homelessness and public health and is currently
seeking proposals for any of these tracks.
All Home is committed to support system transformation
efforts through relevant capacity building activities. The full Capacity
Building Plan can be found on our website, here.
All learning opportunities can be found on our calendar, here. If you are
offering a training and want to get the word out or have a specific training
need or recommendation for All Home, please contact Triina Van.
Best Practices in
Emergency Shelter Workshop (re-scheduled due to snow)
Brought to you by All Home and the City of Seattle Human
Services Department, this training delivered by national experts from the
National Alliance to End Homelessness focuses on how emergency shelters can
align with a Housing First approach, lower barriers to entry, and develop
programmatic practices that support clients exiting back to housing more
quickly so that they do not return to homelessness. Through a mix of
presentation, activities, and group work, participants will be asked to think
critically about their role in the homelessness system and evaluate how their
policies and procedures help or hinder quick exits to permanent housing.
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 29, 2017, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PST
Register
here.
Best Practices in Rapid
Re-Housing Workshop
Brought to you by All Home and the City of Seattle Human
Services Department, this training delivered by national experts from the
National Alliance to End Homelessness brings together research and best
practices on rapid re-housing with innovative and emerging strategies from
successful rapid re-housing programs around the country. Participants will gain
an understanding of the three core components of rapid re-housing: housing
identification, financial assistance, and case management and services, as well
as practical strategies for implementation. Facilitators will help participants
tackle tough questions such as recruiting landlords in a challenging housing
market and re-housing households with high barriers.
Date/Time: Thursday, March 30, 2017, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM PST
Register
here.
Partner Trainings
2017 Fair Housing Workshops for Housing
Providers: King County Office of Civil Rights
http://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/civil-rights/fair-housing/providers-workshops.aspx
Bitfocus Clarity General Trainings
Register for specific dates and times at: http://kingcounty.hmis.cc/training/schedule-a-training/
Cross Agency Systems Training (CAST) for
Adults and Child/Youth Services: King County Behavioral Health Recovery
Division
Learn whom each system serves, goals of each program,
services available to consumers, and how to access these services.
Systems represented include: Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Crisis Services,
Child Welfare, Parent Supports, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health Courts, and
more. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cross-agency-systems-training-cast-2017-tickets-27059831685
Next CAST Training:
CAST for Adults | 3/9/17 and 8/2/17
CAST for Children | 5/11/17 and 10/4/17
 United Way of King County’s Community
Resource Exchange is almost here! This is a day that shows we care; a day
that connects people experiencing homelessness with essential items and
services – dental checks, haircuts, new shoes, a care package, a hot meal, and
so much more. This year the Exchange will be held on Thursday, March 9th
from 9am to 2pm at CenturyLink Field. Questions? Contact Taylor Wells at twells@uwkc.org
We are currently hiring a Project Manager to support the implementation of the All Home
Strategic Plan, specifically including:
- Leading across systems to develop effective discharge
planning, preventing exits to homelessness from jails, hospitals, and
other institutions,
- Collaborating with housing authorities and other
housing partners to increase housing opportunities for those moving on, or
graduating from, supportive housing, and
- Ongoing community engagement to increase awareness and
support for making homelessness rare, brief, and one-time.
To learn more and to apply, visit http://bit.ly/2lSYkeZ.
Accelerator YMCA is hiring a Program
Director for YV LifeSet, a clinical evidence-based case management program,
aimed at helping 18-21 year olds who have been in foster care with intense
support.
Pierce County is
currently hiring for a Homeless
Housing Program Evaluation Specialist 2 to
conduct data analysis and impact
evaluation for the Pierce County Community Connections Homeless Housing
Programs. The objective of this position is to design and implement a
coordinated and comprehensive strategy for measuring the impact of programs to
end homelessness in Pierce County, and to use program evaluation to inform the
development of new programs and system innovations.
Mary’s Place is seeking a Diversion
Specialist to provide shelter diversion services aimed to quickly house
families who are experiencing homelessness to avoid the need to enter emergency
shelter. The Diversion Specialist will work individually with families to
identify solutions and alternative housing arrangements that quickly resolve
the family’s housing crisis through a combination of direct service and
financial assistance. |
