 Luatonya Girtman speaks about her success after finding housing through the Landlord Liaison Project
At any given time, roughly 1,000 people in King County have what they need to put homelessness firmly behind them — a rental housing voucher. The catch? They can’t find a place to use it. Between the fast-escalating rents in our region and increasing competition among would-be renters, many people with housing vouchers are still without their own roof.
On November 18, property owners joined non-profits, philanthropy, and government at Zillow headquarters to mark the launch of the One Home campaign. At the event, local leaders shared incentives, protections, and services that are available to landlords willing to rent to people who have the tools to exit homelessness.
As CEH Director Mark Putnam noted on KCTS 9, this event was just the start for One Home. You can still get involved with the campaign at one of the below events, through the One Home website, or by contacting us at landlords@cehkc.org.
Read Seattle Times coverage of the campaign here.
Upcoming One Home Events
Landlord Engagement in King County
Hosted by the Landlord Liaison Project and the Committee to End Homelessness
December 2, 2014 | January 6, 2015 | January 27, 2015
SeaTac City Hall, 4800 South 188th Street, Suite 245, SeaTac, WA
Contact Larry Todd at 206.336.4613 for more information
Partnering with the Section 8 Program
A Housing Authority Conversation with Property Managers
Wednesday, Jan 21, 2015
Contact jenna.smith@seattlehousing.org for more details
 CEH hosts a screening of documentary The Homestretch alongside Mockingbird Youth, New Horizons, and YouthCare at the Northwest Film Forum on Jan 12 at 7PM. Given unprecedented access to the Chicago School System, The Homestretch follows three homeless youth as they brave Chicago winters, the pressures of high school, and life alone on the streets to build a brighter future. Against all odds, these kids defy stereotypes as they create new, surprising definitions of home. The award winning feature will be followed by a panel discussion led by CEH’s Megan Gibbard which covers how homeless youth and young adult issues in King County compare to the circumstances described in the film.
Tickets are first come first serve! For a free ticket to the screening, contact one of the partner agencies or email anand.balasubrahmanyan@cehkc.org.
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In 2012, King County launched Family Housing Connection (FHC), a coordinated entry assessment and referral process for families experiencing homelessness in King County. With two and half years of data, CEH engaged consulting firm Focus Strategies to assess the progress to date and recommend refinements to the system as needed.
On November 6, Katharine Gale of Focus Strategies and CEH convened over 150 community stakeholders to share key findings from the system analysis, present information on other system models, and hear additional input. Stakeholders present shared their thoughts on reducing entry barriers and other access issues.You can find the PowerPoint presentation and summary from the community meeting on the Family Homelessness Initiative website.
Next steps and key upcoming dates:
First week of December: Draft report sent to the Family Homelessness Advisory Group and posted on FHI website for public review/comment (all comments received will be shared with the consultants and the Advisory Group at the December 10th meeting).
December 4: Report posted on FHI website
December 4-9: Comments on the draft report can be submitted to Michelle Valdez through COB on the 9th at michelle.valdez@cehkc.org.
December 10: Consultants meet with Advisory Group to review draft report
January 2015: Consultants present final report and recommendations to the IAC for discussion
 For the past two and half years, Vine Maple Place has implemented strategic initiatives that led to new prevention, diversion, and rapid re-housing programming. These strategic changes have transformed how the team works with families. Families are housed sooner, and the time and cost it takes to work towards stability is substantially less than the time and cost of transitional housing. On average, families spend 6 months in the new program and it costs 25% less as compared to transitional housing (at this reduced length of stay). Families on the brink of homelessness stay in their housing and homeless families are housed quickly and become stable sooner.
Vine Maple Place is now serving more families with a plan to continue growing. Two years ago the agency served 25 families annually. Now they are able to serve 90+ families per year. These changes have resulted in faster recovery for families financially, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
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 Last Friday, NPR broadcast the story of Franklin and Sherry Gilliard, a local family that experienced homelessness during the recession. The couple recount their experience with debt collectors, the shame they felt while in shelters, and their eventual path to transitional housing. Their story was broadcast through the StoryCorps, an oral history project supported by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Seattle University, that captures local experiences of family homelessness.
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 Count Us In, our community’s daylong count of homeless and unstably housed youth and young adults, will take place on January 22, 2015. Count Us In will again take place alongside the One Night Count (which occurs between 2am and 5am on January 23) and is a complementary effort to provide a more detailed look at youths and young adults experiencing homelessness in our community. Contact Samantha.wiese@kingcounty.gov for more information.
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 Learn about faith based solutions to family homelessness on Sunday, December 7th, 2pm to 4:30 pm at Seattle University. The afternoon will consist of two sessions, with six workgroups to choose from. Topics covered will include: Advocacy, Housing, Landlords, Shelters, Safe Parking, Networks, and Companionship. The event is hosted by Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry and The Church Council of Greater Seattle. Register here.
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Hopelink has energy assistance funds available! To receive funds, households need to live in North and East King County, and meet income criteria. Households do not have to have a past due bill, so they can access funds now. To schedule an appointment, households need to call 1-800-348-7144.
 Funding from United Way of King County and the Boeing Company will help King County bolster the Reconnecting Youth program. These investments will more than double the number of local youth and young adults (ages 16-21) who have dropped out of high school return to the classroom to earn their GEDs and complete at least one year of post-secondary school.
Reconnecting Youth will engage young people with education, training and employment support to help them develop and work toward career goals. With Boeing and United Way's investment, many young people will be able to earn career credentials in addition to their GED that will open doors to employment in the aerospace and manufacturing sectors. Services are available at YouthSource (Renton) and the Multi-Service Center (Federal Way), and will be expanded to Auburn (details TBD). For questions, contact Jennifer Hill at Jennifer.hill@kingcounty.gov.
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Because achieving positive outcomes for youth is often more complex and challenging, many providers are concerned that performance measures will discourage communities from funding youth programs. HUD recently published the System Performance Measures Introductory Guide, a guide that describes our new system performance measures. The key difference between these system performance measures and traditional performance measures is that the system performance measures capture outcomes for all homeless people in the CoC’s geographic area regardless of whether they are served by CoC-funded programs. This is crucial, because it means that CoCs cannot improve their performance by simply failing to serve people for whom it is harder to achieve positive outcomes.
 There are currently no open RFPs. Please check our website for updates throughout the month.
Governing Board
Upcoming Meeting: Wednesday, January 28 / 8:30 - 10:30 am / Seattle City Hall
Recent Meeting: CEH Strategic Plan and 2015 Legislative Agenda
Interagency Council (IAC)
Upcoming Meeting: Monday, December 1 / 2 - 4pm / St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral
Agenda Topics: Strategic Plan Update, Coordinated Assessment & Integration, Performance Targets
Recent Meeting: HUD Housing & Native Americans, King County Affordable Housing Trends, Coordinated Assessment
Consumer Advisory Council (CAC)
Upcoming Meeting: Wednesday, December 17 / 6 - 7:30pm / Plymouth Congregational Church, Seattle
Agenda Topics: Strategic Plan Update and Input
The Family Homelessness Initiative staff host monthly information sessions on the 3rd Wednesday of the month to talk with local stakeholders (providers and funders) about the work of the Initiative. This is an opportunity to hear about current projects, what is coming up next, to ask questions and provide input. NOTE: Beginning July 2014, these sessions will be held from 9:00-10:00am and immediately followed by the Family Housing Connection (FHC) feedback session.
Reoccurring: 3rd Wednesdays each month 9:00 – 10:00 am at varying locations
Next meeting: December FHI Information Session and FHC Feedback Meeting are cancelled
Contact Triina Tennelo for more information: 206.263.9110 or triina.tennelo@kingcounty.gov or visit the Initiative website for more information:
The monthly YYA Stakeholder Forums provide a monthly opportunity to hear about the changes planned for our homeless youth and young adult system in King County. Please check the YYA Webpage for updates. For more information on the Comprehensive Plan to Prevent and End Youth and Young Adult Homelessness in King County contact Megan Gibbard (megan.gibbard@cehkc.org) or visit the YYA Webpage. To be added to the YYA stakeholder email list, which provides bi-weekly updates on the initiative, email Carrie.Hennen@cehkc.org.
YYA Stakeholder Forum- Tuesday June 24, 2-3:30pm, There will be no December stakeholder forum. The January forum will be replaced with a "Count Us In" debrief.
 South King County Forum on Homelessness
Contact: Manuela Ginnett, manuelag@multi-servicecenter.com or Jo Cherland, johannac@ccsww.org. The SKC Forum on Homelessness meets the 1st Wed. of every month at 9–10:30am at Kent Commons, 525 – 4th Ave N. SKC Forum on Homelessness web address: http://kentwa.gov/content.aspx?id=2728
Upcoming Meeting: Wednesday, Dec 3, from 9:00 to 10:30am at Kent Commons (525 – 4th Avenue N.)
Agenda Topics: CEH Director Mark Putnam will provide an update on the Strategic Plan
North King County Housing Stakeholders Meeting
Contact: Kayla Schott-Bresler at kayla@housingconsortium.org. The NKC Stakeholders group coordinates homeless housing & service activities in North King County. Typical Schedule: Quarterly, 2nd Wednesday, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, (brown bag) Shoreline City Hall
Upcoming Meeting: Wednesday, December 10, from 11:30am-1:30pm, at Shoreline City Hall
Eastside Homelessness Advisory Committee (EHAC)
Contact: Arthur Sullivan ASullivan@bellevuewa.gov. EHAC coordinates homeless housing & service activities in East King County. Typical Meeting Schedule: 2nd Thursday of the month, 2:00pm – 4:00pm, First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, 1717 Bellevue Way NE (just south of 520)
Upcoming Meeting: Thursday, December 11, from 2:00 to 4:00pm, at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue (1717 Bellevue Way NE)
Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness (ITFH)
The ITFH works among, between, and within the faith community and seeks to create the political will to end homelessness using targeted education, outreach and advocacy. Typical Meeting Schedule: 3rd Wednesday of the month, noon-1:30pm at St. Mark’s. Contact: Bill Kirlin-Hackett at itfh@comcast.net or (425) 442-5418.
Upcoming Meeting: Wednesday, December 17, 2014, noon – 1:30p.m. at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave E, Seattle
University District Conversation on Homelessness
Contact: Nathalie Gerhke. Monthly Gathering share thoughts and strategies on local and regional concerns around homelessness. Typical Meeting Schedule: 2nd Monday of the month, 9 – 11:30 am. Meetings rotate throughout the U District, and frequently at University Congregational Church though location may change.
Upcoming Meeting: Monday, December 8, 9-11:30 a.m. at 171 Mary Gates Hall, Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center, UW Campus
Agenda Topics: Foster Care and Homelessness with Jim Theophelis and The Mockingbird Society youth
University District Service Provider’s Alliance
Contact: udsp.spt@gmail.com U-District Service Provider’s Alliance share information relevant to working with homeless youth and young adults, program updates, and neighborhood updates. A service provider debrief follows each meeting. Typical Meeting Schedule: 2nd Wednesday of the month, 11am-12:30pm
Upcoming Meeting: No December meeting
Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness (SKCCH)
The General meeting is the 3rd Thurs of each month, 9-11am at E Cherry YWCA. Learn more and sign up for meeting reminders at www.homelessinfo.org
General Meeting: Thursday, December 18, from 9:00 to 11:00am, E. Cherry YWCA 2820 E. Cherry St.
Agenda Topics: Legislative Session
SKCCH Youth & Young Adults: Tuesday, December 9, from 10:00-11:30am, at Capitol Hill Library 425 Harvard Ave. E.
Agenda Topics: Discussion of survival sex and sex work among youth and young adults who are homeless
SKCCH Single Adults Advocacy: Thursday, December 11, from noon to 1:30pm, Plymouth's Simons Apts 2119 3rd Ave.
Agenda Topics: Long Term Support Services for aging clients/guests experiencing both medical and behavioral health issues
SKCCH Families with Children: The Families with Children Committee will not be meeting on their regularly scheduled date. Instead, all members are encouraged to attend the Thursday, December 18 General Membership meeting.
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