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November 2008

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Charting a Course for Action in Snohomish County

Although there is a long and successful history of agencies dedicated to providing affordable housing in Snohomish County, the housing community realized that the efforts of these agencies alone were not enough to meet the growing unmet needs for affordable housing. In the fall of 2007, the Housing Consortium of Everett and Snohomish County contracted with Building Changes to develop a plan for dramatically increasing the number of households assisted through affordable housing and homeless prevention services in Snohomish County. After several months of talking to advocates, convening key public and private stakeholders, and analyzing potential new strategies, Building Changes delivered a report titled Housing within Reach: A Call to Action for Snohomish County Communities, which described the strategies necessary to more than double the households receiving housing assistance in the county, from 14,000 to over 32,000 over the next ten years.

The Housing Within Reach plan provides a menu of strategies that focus on three broad approaches: providing incentives to developers to include affordable units in their new developments; building the capacity of affordable housing partners to increase their production and sustain programs; and developing new public and private resources to fund housing creation and preservation. These broad categories include specific strategies and first year action steps that were developed based on regional and national best practices, and tailored to meet the needs of the local community, based on multiple avenues of input from housing advocates, government officials, business leaders, and other community members.

The Housing Within Reach plan was launched in June 2008 with a kickoff conference hosted by the Consortium, and attended by 150 community members, including the County Executive and several county and city councilmembers. The Consortium has already begun working to implement the strategies in the plan with its many partners in the community. Building Changes continues its work to inform and facilitate the development of new strategies and policies in Snohomish County, including leading a new study to recommend new programs that will bring multiple jurisdictions together to jointly increase resources available for new housing in the county. Building Changes has also joined the Consortium as a member as part of its commitment to affordable housing in the County.

Past Success Stories

March 2009

"We Make It Happen – Because That’s What We Do"
Building Changes Works to End Young Adult Homelessness in King County
In King County alone, some 1,000 young people between 18 and 25 years old are homeless at any given time. Building Changes is working to end homelessness in the State of Washington, and our efforts are bringing the needs of homeless young adults to policymakers and funders. Last year, Building Changes’ staff led the establishment of strategies for ending young adult homelessness in King County and also helped design a competitive proposal that resulted in funding for 15 service-enriched young adult housing units in Federal Way, Auburn, and Kent.

January 2009

A Life in Chaos Finds a Lifeline
Sierra struggled with alcohol and drug addiction for many years and was 26 years old when she first became homeless. Today, a mother of two young children, she has permanent housing and access to a range of services through the support of agencies like the Opportunity Council, a Washington Families Fund grantee, and other service partners.

November 2008

Charting a Course for Action in Snohomish County
In the fall of 2007, the Housing Consortium of Everett and Snohomish County contracted with Building Changes to develop a plan for dramatically increasing the number of households assisted through affordable housing and homeless prevention services in Snohomish County. The resulting plan, Housing within Reach: A Call to Action for Snohomish County Communities, describes the strategies necessary to more than double the households receiving housing assistance in the county, from 14,000 to over 32,000 over the next ten years.