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Greetings HSD Community,
With the start of November, I'm looking forward to this Tuesday, November 8, General Election Day. If you are registered to vote at your current address, you should have received your ballot in the mail as well as one or possibly two voter pamphlets. Remember to complete your ballot and return it no later than 8 p.m. on November 8.
November is National Family Caregiver Support Month
Celebrated every November, this is a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across the country. It offers an opportunity to raise awareness of caregiving issues, educate communities, and increase support for caregivers.
The national observance is led by Caregiver Action Network, a nonprofit that provides free education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers. This year’s theme is #CaregivingHappens, which reflects your reality that often caregiving just happens.
#CaregivingHappens raises awareness of your role as a family caregiver as people realize you may be running late because you’re picking up a loved one from chemo, or your friends understand you’re not avoiding them but caring for your mom with Alzheimer’s.
When caregiving happens, it’s not always convenient or expected. We understand, and we get it. Caregiver Action Network began promoting national recognition of family caregivers in 1994. President Clinton signed the first Presidential Proclamation in 1997 and Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle City Council recently signed a city proclamation for this year.
Leadership Changes at HSD
I’m pleased to announce our new Interim Deputy Director, Anne Lee, who started in early October. Anne joins HSD after serving the past 20 years as the Executive Director of TeamChild, a nationally acclaimed nonprofit law firm for youth in Washington State. She has worked alongside community partners to advance policy and training that have catalyzed transformative shifts in the education, child welfare, behavioral health, and juvenile legal systems so that young people, especially youth of color, have opportunities to heal, grow and thrive in their communities.
City Budget Update
The Council conducts public hearings on the entire budget, and there are still two more scheduled for November 8 and 15. Final adoption is expected on November 21. You’ll find details on their budget process here, including an easy-to-read infographic.
All my best,
Tanya Kim
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Learn more about the Seattle City Council’s Select Budget Committee on their website: https://www.seattle.gov/council/committees/select-budget-committee
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Seattle Redistricting 2021-2023
The Seattle Redistricting Commission has voted to amend the draft map of the boundaries of Seattle's 7 City Council Districts. Members of the public are invited to submit comments on the proposed adjustments to the amended draft map on or before November 15 by visiting the website.
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The City of Seattle strongly encourages all eligible residents and visitors to be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19. Find out where and how to get your COVID-19 vaccine in the Seattle area. Protect yourself and your community. Anyone 12 years old and older are eligible to get vaccinated.
• Vaccines are free, available, and recommended for everyone 5+
• Booster doses are free, available, and recommended for everyone 12+
• Vaccines are available regardless of immigration status
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Seattle Landmarks Join HSD in Recognizing #PurpleThursday
Seattle landmarks including Lumen Field and The Great Seattle Wheel lit up the waterfront on the evening of October 20th. They joined staff from HSD, the Mayor's Office, Seattle Fire Department, Mary's Place, and numerous organizations across the country who dressed up in purple earlier in the day and posted photos and messages to social media in recognition of #PurpleThursday.
Purple Thursday is the awareness day launched by the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence that’s now gone national to honor victims and to support survivors during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
This year's theme for the month – #Every1KnowsSome1 – strives to highlight how common domestic violence is and that it is more than physical violence. Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, regardless of race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or economic status.
On a typical day pre-pandemic, domestic violence hotlines received approximately 19,000 calls—an average of close to 13 calls every minute. In Washington State in 2021, 29 people were victims of domestic violence homicide.
If you need free, confidential assistance, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at: 1−800−799−7233.
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Community Perceptions on Public Safety Matter. Make Sure Your Voice is Heard!
Public safety and security are community concerns. Through this website, Seattle University (SU) administers this annual citywide survey. The Seattle Public Safety Survey is part of the Seattle Police Department's Micro-Community Policing Plans.
The purpose of the survey is to solicit feedback from those who live and/or work in Seattle to increase public safety and security in your neighborhood. Through the survey results SU will provide detailed reports on the safety concerns of each neighborhood in order to better direct police services to meet the specific needs of your community.
The survey is accessible from October 15 through November 30 and is available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, English, Korean, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya and Vietnamese. Please tell your friends, family, co-workers and community members about the Seattle Public Safety Survey and feel free to post the survey link on your social media.
Please make sure your voice is heard and visit PublicSafetySurvey.org today!
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On the Human Interests blog: HSD Announces Over $4.5 million in Awards to Expand Child Care Access
HSD is pleased to announce awards from its Child Care Facilities Request for Proposals (RFP), providing $4.535 million of Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery (CLFR) funds through the City’s Seattle Rescue Plan to renovate or develop six programs and increase licensed capacity in preschool and child care facilities, supporting the creation of 311 new child care slots.
The RFP focused on supporting child care providers and families hit hardest by COVID-19, in particular low-income workers and communities of color, by increasing access to child care. At the national level, mothers of children 12 years and younger lost jobs at a rate three times greater than fathers of young children between February and August 2020. Throughout the pandemic, women, particularly women of color, have experienced higher levels of unemployment, threatening to undo decades of progress towards gender equity. Early learning programs are vital to an equitable COVID-19 recovery.
Proposals for the RFP were assessed by a diverse volunteer panel on project readiness, project budget, provider capacity, and support for low-income and/or Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) families disproportionally affected by COVID-19. The awarded applicants are:
- Refugee Women’s Alliance – with partner WF Northaven/Barrientos RYAN
- Community Roots Housing PDA – with partners El Centro de la Raza & Bridge Housing
- The Children’s Center at Burke Gilman Gardens
- Tiny Tots Development Center 1
- St. Paul Early Learning Center
- University Heights Center/University Temple Children’s School
Read a longer version of this post featuring comments from some of the awardees!
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On AgeWise King County: Caregivers: You Are Not Alone
AgeWise King County is a monthly e-zine published by the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging & Disability Services. This month you will find several articles that recognize National Family Caregiver Month and also, in honor of the women and men who have served or currently serve in the Armed Forces, information about veterans. One of the most important takeaways for caregivers is this: You Are Not Alone.
Learn more at www.agewisekingcounty.org.
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2022 African American Caregiver Forum
On Public Health Insider: How Did Covid-19 Impact People Living with Disabilities?
The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to slow its spread brought a number of social, economic and overall health impacts for communities throughout King County. Public Health—Seattle & King County, in partnership with the Disability Empowerment Center and Lifelong Aging And Disabilities Services, interviewed and listened to local people from disability communities to shed light on how these impacts were experienced by people living with disabilities in King County.
Disability is often a misunderstood term. It covers a spectrum, from being in a wheelchair to having chronic medical conditions, mental health, and sensory disabilities such as blindness, deafness, and autism. The types of disability are not mutually exclusive, and they can happen to anyone, at any age, and can sometimes occur overnight.
Visit the blog to read some of the main takeaways Public Health learned from interviews with 35 community members and two listening sessions with the King County Disability Consortium, a group of service providers and members of the disability community.
2022 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Survivor Services RFP
HSD's Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) is partnering with agencies interested in providing survivor-centered, gender-based violence victim services for the diverse communities and geographic areas of Seattle.
The purpose of this RFP is to establish a Seattle-based coordinated regional network of services under the umbrella of gender-based violence (GBV) including survivors of domestic violence (DV), sexual assault (SA), and commercial sexual exploitation (CSE).
Applications closed on August 8th. Due to the competitive nature of this process, the award announcements have been delayed. We will let awardees know the status of their applications as soon as possible. Click here to visit the RFP page for more information.
2022 Domestic Violence Intervention Program Services RFQ
HSD's MODVSA is is partnering with agencies interested in providing therapeutic services for persons with misdemeanor domestic violence charges referred by the Seattle Municipal Court.
Applications closed on August 8th. Due to the current Council budget process, the award announcements have been delayed. We will let awardees know the status of their applications as soon as possible. Click here to visit the RFP page for more information.
2022 Child Care Facilities RFP
HSD recently announced the results of this RFP. See the article brief above.
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 The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) connects people with resources and solutions during times of need so we can all live, learn, work, and take part in strong, healthy communities.
HSD is one of the largest contributors to Seattle's safety net, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to more than 200 community-based organizations and programs that support Seattle neighbors and communities each year. About 400 staff further the department’s role as a funder, convener, and direct service provider to achieve positive results. HSD invests in innovative strategies and effective programs and services that promote racial equity, support basic needs in our communities, and foster connection through collaborative approaches to address six key impact areas:
Preparing Youth for Success
Supporting Affordability and Livability
Addressing Homelessness
Promoting Public Health
Supporting Safe Communities and Safe Lives
Promoting Healthy Aging
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