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A recent
report by CFED and the Institute for Policy Studies found that white
households own, on average, seven times as much wealth as African-American
households (and six times as much as Latino ones) and that at current growth
rates, it would take black Americans two hundred and twenty-eight years to have
as much wealth as white Americans have today.
From the report: “While these centuries-old problems are
once again at the forefront today, much of the recent media and political attention
has focused on how structural inequities manifest in the criminal justice
system. But confining conversations around racial inequality to criminal
justice alone ignores the fact that households of color are also simultaneously
facing a slew of economic inequities that exacerbate the social disparities
they face.”
Some of the reasons for these deep disparities are clear:
the unemployment rate for African Americans is roughly twice that of whites,
and African Americans earn, on average, between twelve and twenty-two per cent
less than white people with similar education and experience. But the wealth
gap between black and white Americans is much bigger than the income gap,
thanks to a toxic combination of institutionalized discrimination, persistent
racism, and policies that amplify inequality.
Although discrimination is no longer legal, it is still
pervasive, especially as it relates to housing. Only forty-one per cent of African
Americans own their homes, compared with seventy-one per cent of whites. The
mortgage-interest and other real-estate tax deductions cost the government over
130 billion dollars a year, more than seventy per cent of which goes to the top
twenty per cent of Americans. These funds could be integral in addressing the
housing crisis our country is facing and the racial inequity that has caused
much of the disproportionality we see.
 In September the National Alliance to End Homelessness convened
nearly 100 rapid re-housing champions from around the country, including
King County, to develop a common vision about how we can advance rapid re-housing and
discuss emerging knowledge, research and practice on the model. At the
Summit, NAEH heard resoundingly that rapid re-housing continues to be a primary
solution for ending homelessness and the intervention effectively gets households into permanent
housing and keeps them there.
While we know rapid re-housing is increasing in places
around the country, there is a need to scale up the intervention in a
coordinated manner and at the systems level in order to truly address
homelessness on a broader scale. To that end, the National Alliance to End Homelessness
is launching Rapid Re-Housing Works,
a campaign to help communities focus on the fundamentals of rapid re-housing
and think about new ways to adopt and implement the intervention. Each week they
will release dozens of exciting new tools, resources and thought pieces for use
in our community.
To start the
discussion, NAEH is asking communities to let them know what the most important
things needed to ramp up rapid re-housing are through a survey.
A
Way Home Washington is pleased to announce that Jim Theofelis has started as
Executive Director. Jim brings an unparalleled career of advocating for young
people experiencing homelessness and foster youth to this work. He is
exactly the type of visionary, translational leader that this coalition needs
to meet the goal of ending youth homelessness in Washington State by the year
2020.
“We feel confident that he can help us seize on the
tremendous opportunity our community has to address this issue head-on,” said Sheila Babb Anderson, Homelessness Program
Director at the Campion Advocacy Fund. “We now have all of the pieces in
place that we know will lead us to success—renewed government leadership,
committed philanthropic partners, a strong advocacy community, dedicated
service providers, and growing community awareness.”
The deadline for King County’s Department of Community and
Human Services (DCHS) Landlord Liason Project Request for Proposals (RFP) has
been extended to November 1. To review updates or download a copy of this RFP,
visit the King County Procurement website.
The Seattle Office for Civil Rights is developing
administrative rules pertaining to the Source of Income Ordinance,
legislation that expands fair housing protections based on their source of
income to all renters and creates new requirements for landlords. This
includes the new 'first in time' provision that requires landlords to offer
tenancy to the first applicant who meets all the screening criteria necessary
for approval. They will host the following public meetings:
Public Meeting #1: Thursday, October 27th at 6pm at New Holly Gathering Hall, 7054
32nd Ave South, Seattle WA 98118.
This meeting is an opportunity to learn about ordinance requirements, ask
questions and raise areas that are unclear and that may require administrative
rules.
Public Meeting #2: Thursday, November 17th at 7pm at the Bitter Lake Community Center,
13035 Linden Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133. This meeting will be
another opportunity to learn about ordinance requirements, ask questions and to
review the proposed administrative rules. This meeting is an opportunity to
provide in-person or written public comment on the proposed rules.
Childcare and language interpretation will be provided at each meeting. To
request an accommodation or language interpretation, please call (206)
684-4514. Space is
limited. Please register for your preferred meeting date here.
Join LifeWire and the City of Redmond to learn more about
the intersection between homelessness and domestic violence and how you can be
a part of the solution on Tuesday, October 18 from 6:00-7:30 PM at the Redmond
Public Library (15990 NE 85th St.).
Sleepless in Seattle
is raising money to provide 4,000 people on the streets of Seattle and King
County with a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and winter care packages this winter
through a crowdsourcing campaign. Their Big Give event will be held on Saturday,
November 19 from 2:00-8:00 PM at six different locations around King County
where 360 volunteers will spread throughout King County to meet, serve, and
befriend the homeless community.
The Independent
Living Program at YMCA is hiring for a Resource Specialist position. This is a
great opportunity to be a part of a team that is highly committed to working
with young adults 15-21 who are aging out of the foster care system. The YMCA
helps youth and young adults get connected to housing, employment and education,
and helps them build on other life skills with the goal of living stable,
healthy and productive lives. To
apply click here. |
