Teresa Tuesday - Health & Homelessness Workgroup, Crisis Care Centers, Juneteenth and Pride!

King County, Washington sent this bulletin at 06/25/2024 05:31 PM PDT

King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda

Teresa Tuesday: (June 25, 2024)

Welcome to this edition of Teresa Tuesday where we are celebrating the Summer Solstice. The days may be getting shorter but the list of things our office is working on is getting longer. Wear sunscreen and as always, please reach out if there is anything we can do!

Committee Update

Board of Health’s Health & Homelessness Workgroup Statement

Our region's housing and homelessness crisis is also a health crisis. In response to public commenters repeatedly calling for Board of Health to release guidance on the public health impacts of encampment removals, former Chair Joe McDermott formed in late 2023 a workgroup on Health & Homelessness. The workgroup met once in November 2023 and 10 times between February and June 2024.

Last week, at the Board of Health’s June meeting, the workgroup presented a statement on the public health impacts of encampment removals to the board and offered the opportunity for individual members to sign on in support. The statement highlights 4 ways encampment removals harm the health of individuals experiencing homelessness:

1. Encampment removals can cause people to lose medications, medical equipment and other personal belongings while traumatizing individuals and destabilizing those struggling with their behavioral health. They can also make it harder for care providers to establish the needed relationships to help people access care and services.

2. These removals criminalize people experiencing homelessness resulting in a breakdown of trust between law enforcement and these populations.

3. This interaction with the criminal justice system makes it harder for people to get on their feet. Criminal records make it more difficult to obtain work and housing further isolating people.

4. Lastly, resources spent on removals is money we are not spending on housing, healthcare and social programs.

I am proud to have had my staff actively participate in this workgroup and thank the other members for all of their work to illuminate the research on this important topic – and I proudly signed on to the statement. Find the entire statement here.

Council Update

Passage of Crisis Care Centers Implementation Plan

After years of work leading up to the Crisis Care Center Levy vote last year and a months long effort to refine the legislation, Council has passed the Crisis Care Center Implementation Plan. This is a big step forward in address the needs of our community. This measure makes significant investment in the current behavioral health workforce while intentionally creating a pipeline for more people to be able to enter the field and help be part of the solution.

Thank you to Executive Constantine and his team for his leadership on this effort, to my Colleague Councilmember Zahilay who prime sponsored the legislation and Councilmember Von Reichbauer who guided the legislation through his Regional Policy Committee. Here is a link to the Executive’s press release on final passage: King County begins implementation of Crisis Care Centers initiative, a transformational investment in behavioral health care | by Dow Constantine | KingCounty | Jun, 2024 | Medium

Many folks still have questions about what the Crisis Care Centers will actually do. Here are some handy videos KCTV put together that might answer those questions:

What is a crisis care center?

When will crisis care centers open?

What happens after someone leaves a crisis care center?

Who will crisis care centers serve?

What staff work at a crisis care center?

Bonus clip – 911 Collaboration

More Coverage Here:

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mental-health/king-county-council-approves-crisis-care-centers-plan-mental-health-funding/

Proclamation of Juneteenth in King County

Councilmember Mosqueda joined by her fellow Councilmembers and the Atlantic Street Center Staff & Donna moodie of the Seattle Urban League.

Our County is named after and bears the image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He once said, “None of us are free until we are all free”. I was proud to introduce the proclamation of June 19th as Juneteenth in King County last week at council. It was also my honor to be joined by Dr. Terry and her team at the Atlantic Street Center and Donna Moodie of the Seattle Urban League.

Proclamation of Pride Month in King County

Councilmember Mosqueda and her Council Colleagues with Diana Rendler & Dallas Aguilera Martinez of QLaw and Greg Jamiel of Snovalley Pride.

June is officially Pride Month here in King County after my Colleagues Councilmembers Sarah Perry and Jorge Barón jointly proclaimed it so. We were joined by folks from Qlaw & Snovalley Pride. It's important to remember the civil rights victories that have brought us here and not take these rights for granted.

Councilmember in Community

Duwamish Long House Tour

Councilmember Mosqueda and team with leaders of the Duwamish Council.

I met with leadership of the Duwamish Council to tour the Duwamish Long House located in District 8. Chair Cecile Hansen was kind enough to host our team and brought us up to speed on their efforts to improve access to cultural spaces for the community. They are growing their footprint with more educational and cultural programing in addition to starting to provide behavioral healthcare.

The Heron's Nest

Councilmember Mosqueda and team with the team of the Heron's Nest

This site located in the greenbelt just above W Marginal Way, the Heron's Nest, is cultivating and healing the land by turning a toxic site into healthy solid for gardening, harvesting food all while educating youth and community about the importance of native plants.

White Center Public Safety Forum

Councilmember Mosqueda with leaders from across White Center to discuss Public Safety.

I joined with other community leaders and SeaMar Health for a public safety forum in White Center to bring folks together so community could share their concerns and needs. We got an update on what the current efforts are to boost public safety in the area. There’s a lot we can tackle here at the County through the comprehensive plan like increased lighting to help activate spaces. Stay tuned for following meetings and ways to get engaged.

Community Announcements

Free Waterfront Shuttles

Photo from Seattle Historic Waterfront Association

I’ve heard from constituents how much they appreciate the free shuttle that will take you from Pioneer Square, to the Waterfront and all the way to Seattle Center. Thank you to Councilmember Kohl-Welles whose advocacy secured key early investments during her time in office.

Some folks don’t know about it and that’s why I wanted to boost it here so everyone can take advantage of this incredible program. The Seattle Times has a nice write up of it here: Free shuttles return to Seattle’s waterfront, Discovery Park | The Seattle Times

For more information check it out here: Free Seattle Waterfront Shuttle - Official Page

Best Starts for Kids Grant Awards

Positive Family Connections Family Network Mini Grants

Congratulations to Black Coffee NW Grounded, Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle, Inclusion Island, Inspire Family Institute, Para Los Ninos de Highline, Vashon Island Youth and Family Services, White Center Heights Elementary PTA and Women United who are the District 8 awardees. These grants will help these organizations strengthen parent to parent engagement, kinship care relationships, intergenerational and cultural heritage bonds, restorative practices, personal development for young people and parents and caregivers, and the connections among these family members.

Lead and Toxics Awards

Also, a big congratulations to Communidad/Latino Community fund of WA and Muslimahs Against Abuse Center for being selected for the Best Starts for Kids’ Environmental Supports: Leads and Toxics grant. This program focuses on supporting the work of communities most impacted by toxics to address exposure sources harming families and young children in King County and connecting families with the services their children need to live healthy and safe lives.

New Metro Rider Safety Page

Metro has posted a new page to their website as a result of their transit safety initiative! I appreciate all of the work they put in to inform how they approach rider safety while being mindful of how safety enforcement shows up and is operationalized to minimize unintended consequences. Visit the new page here: Rider safety - King County, Washington

Community Spotlight

Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority

RFQ Opportunity for Providers of Young Adult Transitional Housing & Services

Photo from PHPDA

There’s a rare opportunity available for providers of youth and young adult transitional housing and services at the Pacific Tower Campus on Beacon Hill in Seattle.

Pacific Hospital PDA (PHPDA) is seeking a qualified organization (or team of organizations) to develop and operate safe, healthy transitional housing and services for young adults (ages 18-24) at risk of homelessness on this historic site. This opportunity is more than housing — it’s about creating a supportive community and home for young adults.

The RFQ was released on June 17 and the application process begins on July 17 with a required site walk. RFQ responses must be submitted by September 6. If you or a peer organization are interested in submitting a proposal, access the RFQ and learn more on PHPDA’s website: https://phpda.org/rfq-for-youth-housing/

Thank you for signing up for the #TeresaTuesday Newsletter. We will send you regular updates every other week. If you’d like to reach out or have an issue we can help with, please reach out anytime.

Thank you for allowing us to represent you on the King County Council!

Teresa Mosqueda
King County Councilmember, District 8
(206) 477-1008
teresa.mosqueda@kingcounty.gov

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