Updates from the South King Housing and Homelessness Partnership!
As we move further into 2016, we’ve been working to determine what we want to collectively accomplish as the South King Housing and Homelessness Partnership. Members of the Homelessness Action Committee and Joint Planners and Developers workgroup have each met to identify priorities and opportunities for action this year. For more information on the policies and practices we’ve identified that could help to address affordable housing and homelessness issues in our region, click here. And as always, feel free to contact me ([email protected]) with any questions!
— Joy Scott, SKC Housing Planner
Places to Be
The Puget Sound Regional Council is hosting a peer networking series focused on best practices and resources for local planning and implementation. The March 17th panel discussion and webinar will be focused on partnerships for affordable housing, with the topic of “Models of Cross-Jurisdictional Coordination from Around the Region to Produce and Preserve Affordable Housing.” Get more information, including how to sign up for this and future events here.
People in Action
On February 8, 2016, representatives from King County, local cities, nonprofit organizations, All Home, and affordable housing providers gathered at the Kirkland Avenue Townhomes in Renton to announce a series of actions to increase access to affordable housing and confront and prevent homelessness across King County. These actions include:
- $280,000 in emergency funding to expand shelter capacity and access in South and East King County and to create a day center in South King County.
- $7 million for capital projects that will create an additional 237 units of affordable housing.
- $10 million in rental assistance, funds to operate affordable housing so that it is a positive asset in the community, and funds for case management and helping individuals find employment, education and other services.
- The long-term affordable housing strategy to confront the region’s lack of affordable housing that the Executive recently transmitted to the County Council.
King County Executive Dow Constantine announces new funding for housing and shelter services, including several recipients in South King County.
Resources
Enterprise has released An Investment in Opportunity, a long-term platform that lays out the federal, state and local policy changes necessary to address America’s growing rental housing crisis and create communities of opportunity across the U.S. It includes input from thought leaders and partners across the country.
The platform offers a bold new vision for housing policy, with 23 discrete policy recommendations built around four strategies for reform:
1. Ensure broad access to high-opportunity neighborhoods
2. Promote comprehensive public and private investments in low-income neighborhoods
3. Recalibrate our priorities in housing policy and target scarce subsidy dollars where they’re needed most
4. Improve the overall financial stability of low-income households
We’ve created multiple ways to explore the policy recommendations and learn more about our platform:
• Visit our interactive website
• Read the full policy platform online
• Download the platform as a PDF
• Get a high-level summary of the platform on the Enterprise blog
