Recent Blog Posts
Michele Thomas, Director of Policy & Advocacy
Bill Hearings and...
Last week, Olympia was all about bill hearings and budget rumors. Many of our support issues, such as Extended Foster Care - HB 1735 (Orwall) / SB 5740 (Fain) and the Homeless Student Stability Act - HB1682 (Fey) had hearings, which sets them up to keep moving through the process. You can reference our bill tracker for the current status on all the main bills we are tracking. And check out this great Seattle Times editorial urging lawmakers to fund the Homeless Student Stability Act.
Tell Your Legislators to Protect HEN, ABD & SSI Facilitation.Increasing housing costs means increased pressure on everyone, especially our most vulnerable neighbors. Over 195,000 households in our state have extremely low incomes and are paying more than half of their income on housing costs alone. For these families, an illness, an accident, even a simple fender bender can result in a disability that can make it impossible to work. This leaves them extremely vulnerable to losing their housing and falling into homeless. The Housing & Essential Needs program; Aged, Blind & Disabled program; and SSI Facilitation Services are lifelines for very low-income people with disabilities that prevent homelessness. Help us ensure legislators prioritize protecting these important safety net services! Image
|
...Budget Rumors!
Lawmakers with budget-writing roles were busy at work last week, and there was a lot speculation about when the House will release its budgets. But the House hasn’t given a firm date for the release. It could be as early as this week or as late as the first of the next month. As soon as it comes out, Housing Alliance staff will analyze it and will post an update on our blog. We will be looking at the operating budget to make sure that there is funding for a Medicaid Benefit for Permanent Supportive Housing, that HEN/ABD and SSI facilitation services are fully funded, that there is $6 million for the Washington Youth and Families Fund, and that there is funding for other important programs and services. And we will of course be looking at the capital budget with hope of $100 million for affordable housing. Stay tuned for updates! Lawmakers Need to Hear from You!Take this opportunity to educate lawmakers on the importance of fully funding the safety net services provided by HEN and ABD, and SSI facilitation. Need a brief overview of what these programs do? See our factsheet here. While we expect the House budget to follow the Governor’s lead and fully protect these programs, we need to continue to educate all lawmakers about why these programs are so important. They have frequently been targeted for cuts in previous budget fights, but effective and relentless advocacy has protected them. We need to keep the advocacy up. Please take action today! |
Conference On Ending Homelessness 2015
Are you attending the 25th Annual Conference on Ending Homelessness in May? It will have a lot of workshops for advocates this year!
This year’s Conference on Ending Homelessness will take place on May 13 and 14 in Tacoma. The program features nearly 50 workshops including numerous opportunities for advocates! You will have the opportunity to dive into current policy issues, deepen your advocacy skills, and meet people from across the state who are also engaged in advocacy to end homelessness.
Early bird registration and scholarship applications opened last week and we encourage you take advantage of the lower rates by registering now. It will be another great conference, and we look forward to seeing you there.
These policy and advocacy highlights will be featured at the conference:
In-depth briefings on current state and federal homelessness and affordable housing policy:
- Dispatch From Under The Dome: State Policy & Advocacy Update
- Developments In Federal Policy & Funding
Important updates about the implementation of key state-level policy initiatives:
- Keynote Panel: Mental Health Reform & Intersections With Homelessness
- Getting In On The Ground Floor: Housing Involvement In Accountable Communities Of Health
- Housing 3000: High-Impact Interventions For Chronically Homeless Individuals
A communication training to help advocates improve their strategies and messaging on homelessness and affordable housing issues:
Workshops highlighting local and national community organizing efforts on homelessness, and analysis building opportunities that will enhance your organizing and advocacy work:
- Keep Your HeART: Art & Advocacy
- Why Does Race Matter In Homelessness Advocacy?
- Neutralizing Homelessness: Federal Policy & The Depoliticization of Poverty
- Does Class Matter In Homeless Advocacy?
- Ending The Criminalization Of Homelessness In Washington State
- Western Regional Advocacy Project: Update On Homeless Bill Of Rights & Without Housing Campaigns
Programming on engaging your Board of Directors in advocacy to promote and stand for your organization’s mission:
A training on engaging in electoral advocacy to build the political power needed to end homelessness:
Early bird registration, scholarship applications, and reduced conference hotel rates are now open! Hotel and conference registration rates will increase in mid-April, so be sure to register early in order to receive the best rates. We hope you are able to join us in Tacoma this May! And in the meantime, don’t forget to take action to tell your lawmakers to protect HEN, ABD and SSI Facilitation Services! Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for taking action.
Add new comment