It's clear that there is a LOT of innovative work and collaboration happening in Spokane. We were reminded time and time again how various agencies are partnering, cross referring, building alliances and sharing best practices.
It's also evident that there is a growing need for services in Spokane - and in so many communities across the state. As the economy worsens and winter descends, the number of displaced individuals and families in Spokane is growing. And the stress on food banks, emergency shelters, transitional and permanent housing has never been greater.
We were particularly honored to meet with and learn from some clients at various agencies - individuals who opened their hearts, and in some cases their homes, to our visiting group. One who stands out was Trina from Transitions.
Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day (HHAD) in Washington State has two important objectives: 1) to bring new advocates into the fold, show legislators and the media that many people care about the issues of housing and homelessness, and generally make a visual impact with sheer numbers of people; and 2) to actually meet with legislators and talk to them in depth about the policy changes that will make a difference to low-income and homeless people. Local agency representatives from
Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA),
Washington State Coalition for the Homeless (WSCH), the
Committee to End Homelessness (CEH),
Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium (SLIHC),
Multi-Service Center, the
Tenant's Union, and Building Changes got together yesterday (November 20
th) to kick off planning
Lynn and I attended the
Washington Low Income Housing Alliance (WLIHA) annual member meeting yesterday (November 18th), which was a great opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the legislative agenda that Building Changes will be supporting throughout the upcoming 2009 session. It was also instructive to watch the Alliance in action and see how the group gets things done.
The annual member meeting is a chance for members of the Alliance to approve new or ongoing board members. Megan Hyla, Director of Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs at the King County Housing Authority, has taken on the State Legislative Committee Chair position and led the discussion on the legislative agenda.
There were four lead agenda items on the table, along with a dozen or so "support items,"
I've lived in the Seattle area for almost 30 years, and been a Seattle sports fan my entire life. I've seen a lot of bad teams, a lot of bad games at the Kingdome, the Seattle Coliseum, Husky Stadium. As far back as I can remember, as I approached these events in downtown Seattle, walking off the ferry from Bainbridge, where I grew up, I walked along the waterfront, through Pioneer square, a man was there playing the tuba, bringing smiles to everyone's faces. At first he was one of many faceless homeless people I'd see on the way to a game, or concert. I'm not sure when I became aware of the homeless as individuals, as real people, but they are etched in my memories of going to games in Seattle. Bearded men, bundled up, many of them giving you a yellow-toothed smile, trying their best to
In 2006, Building Changes and the City of Seattle Office of Housing led a community planning process to assess the existing connections between the workforce development and homeless service systems. This process began a couple of years into our community's Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness, which included only limited strategies related to increasing economic opportunities for those experiencing homelessness. That process, and the opportunities for action that the resulting report recommended, spurred our community to action. Over the past year, homeless housing and services funders have ramped up their funding, and their expectations, for employment programs serving homeless job seekers. Some homeless housing and services providers have already stepped up to that challenge by developing
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