That’s why United Way’s Community Resource Exchange, or CRE, is one of the most powerful direct service events we organize here in King County. I am incredibly excited that our fifth CRE is less than a month away. This year’s event will be taking place Friday,  September 24th from 9AM to 2PM at QWEST Field

What is the CRE?

Not just another nonprofit acronym. The CRE is a mega-event where people who are experiencing homelessness can come to receive a wide variety of services all in one place and all in one day.  Because everything is gathered under one roof, what would normally take days is done in a few hours. Last year, we  had over 1,100 homeless families and individuals from all over King County (not just the downtown core) come to the event.

Services We Have Offered

We’ve always had a little bit of everything available at the CRE. Here are some examples of the services we have had in the past:

• On-site benefits applications (things like food stamps, low-cost healthcare, etc.) by DSHS
• Community Voicemail Accounts from Solid Ground
• Long-Distance Phone Calls from AT&T
• Employment Searches and Counseling by YWCA WorkSource
• Haircuts by Northwest Hair Academy
• Free dental care by Medical Teams International and the UW Oral Health Collaborative
• Mini-Manicures
• Footwashing
• A hot meal provided by Farestart
• A“store”  filled with everything from socks to sleeping bags to hygiene kits. Guests have been able to stop by and grab what they need.

This year, we are also proud to introduce some new features at CRE, including a “Tell Your Story” corner utilizing NPR’s StoryCorps and a fully staffed restaurant experience (with hosts and waiters).

Obviously, this is only a small sample of what has been at the CRE. We work with over 70 organizations for this huge event. The CRE always has a great mix of vital services as well as quality-of-life services. We are constantly trying to improve and increase capacity for what we can offer.

Engaging Volunteerism

With an event that has 70+ agencies and 1,000+ guests, you could imagine we need an army of people to make it all run smoothly. And we do have an army — an army of volunteers! We usually have 200-350 volunteers that help in different capacities.

A handful of volunteers organize donation drives. They take a lead at their workplaces, at their places of worship, or in their community groups and collect supplies for our care packages and “store”. The work they do is vital; without them, there wouldn’t be any care packages or a “store”.

Another group of volunteers come out the day before the event to help set up. The biggest job that is done that day is sorting through the donations and setting up the store. It’s a fun, relaxed day with pizza and mingling (and sorting!).

The biggest bulk of our volunteers come on the actual day of the event. Volunteers greet the guests, answer questions, assist agencies, run the store, and handle the outtake process. Our volunteers really make sure the whole CRE runs smoothly!

The CRE volunteer experience is unique because we really encourage the volunteers to sit and talk with the guests. They can play board games, eat lunch together, or just chat. People going through homelessness all have diverse backgrounds and unique stories to tell. Our volunteers get to take all of that in first-hand. For many, it’s an eye-opening experience.

September 24th, 2010

On Friday, September 24, we are hosting our fourth Community Resource Exchange. We really hope to make it an even better one than our last. If you are a service provider and want to get involved with the CRE, please email cre@uwkc.org as soon as possible!

A penny saved...

Now is not the best time to be a government bookkeeper. It seems that every level of  public administration–federal, state, and local–is confronting the worst budget environment in recent memory. As deficits balloon and public debt levels skyrocket, the instinct to slash and burn what many feel is a bloated, unwieldy public sector becomes all the more appealing.

In this type of climate, it’s often easy to forget that well-designed, strategic public spending– and private philanthropy for that matter–can often SAVE LOTS OF MONEY down the road. And, as some recent statistics about the hidden costs of homelessness bears out, United Way’s emphasis on permanent housing provides a perfect example.

Here is some of the most compelling data:

• Emergency shelter is much more expensive than permanent housing. The cost of an emergency shelter bed funded by HUD’s Emergency Shelter Grants program is approximately $8,067 more than the average annual cost of a Section 8 Housing Certificate. Another recent HUD study found that the cost of providing emergency shelter to families is generally as much or more than placing them in transitional or permanent housing. This just reflects savings in the cost of shelter; it does not take into account potential savings from other areas such as health care.

• The University of Texas conducted a two year study and reported each homeless person cost taxpayers $14,480 per year, primarily for overnight jail. Other studies have put the cost of a bed in a state or federal prison at $20,000 per year.

• A Los Angeles study (where 10 percent of the nation’s homeless are located) found that placing four chronically homeless people into permanent supportive housing saved the city more than $80,000 per year.

• Five studies quoted in Opening Doors produced evidence of reductions in the utilization of major services before and after homeless persons were entered into supportive housing programs.

And these statistics don’t even begin to describe the second and third-order benefits of permanent housing: cleaner and safer downtowns; the utilization and renovation of unused commercial and residential real estate; shorter waiting times in acute care centers and emergency rooms.

This is not to detract from the moral imperative of making sure the most vulnerable among us have a roof over their heads. But, as the evidence clearly demonstrates, compassionate policy can also be smart policy.

On June 22, the federal government unveiled the first ever national plan to prevent and end homelessness.  The plan, which was developed primarily through the US Interagency Council on Homelessness, defines clear strategies and benchmarks for ending homelessness for individuals and families.

While hundreds of local communities have been working to end homelessness, without the commitment of the federal government the work at the local level becomes significantly more difficult.  We’ve recognized for a long time that ending a problem as complex as homelessness will require unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration.  Ending homelessness requires the dedicated work of non-profits, business, government, and other institutions.  Having a firm commitment from the federal government will make a significant difference in whether or not we are ultimately successful.

To view the federal plan please go to: http://www.usich.gov/.

SEATTLE/KING COUNTY PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS

The Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County is making process.  The Committee to End Homelessness recently released its annual report detailing both the challenges the plan faces and the milestones that have been reached.

Here are some examples of last year’s successes:

• Preventing homelessness for over 5,000 people through emergency assistance programs throughout the county.
• Helping more than 4,700 individuals in more than 3,350 households to leave homelessness
• Reducing the point-in-time count of people on the streets and in emergency shelter by four percent
• Opening 1,065 new units of housing or dedicated subsidies – our highest production year ever
• Creating a system-wide coordinated entry into programs for chronically homeless individuals

To view the entire annual report go to: http://www.cehkc.org/progress/ReportAnnual.aspx

Hearing on Proposed Regulations for HB 3141

June 24, 2010

Delivered by Carol Wood

United Way of King County was a strong advocate for HB 3141 because we saw the connection between stable child care and our priorities of ending homelessness, meeting basic needs, ensuring every child is ready to succeed in school and strengthening the community.  United Way allocates about $40 M /year to community agencies to achieve these outcomes and any factor that affects family stability will have a significant impact on everyone’s efforts to create a strong community.

We applaud the Department of Early Learning’s implementation efforts but feel several provisions fall short of meeting the intent of the law.

Disruptions in child care caused by more frequent eligibility determination affect child development, family self-sufficiency, child care provider stability and productivity in the work place. As a funder, agency responsible for doing community needs assessments and describing service gaps, and member of the Early Learning Action Alliance we ask that:

• Family income be allowed to rise or fall by up to $250/mo.  Families should not be penalized for fluctuations in income particularly if it is in a positive direction leading to greater self-sufficiency.
• Extend child care subsidies to 6 months when a parent looses a job instead of the current 28 days.  In difficult economic times, we need to be realistic about how long it may take to find a new job.  Certainly, we would not expect any one of us to find, let alone begin a new job in less than a month.
• Provide homeless and foster children with 12 months of child care without going through additional eligibility determinations.  These are our most vulnerable citizens.

Stronger families, stable child care, and opportunities for work and advancement contribute to an economically strong community—something we are all striving to achieve.

Between January and April, 2010, United Way of King County volunteers prepared tax returns for 14,000 clients throughout King County.  Our clients had a median annual income of $19,062, which, when compared to Seattle’s median household income of $85,828, reveals the challenges many of these taxpayers faced to make ends meet.  Moreover, the median income of our 2010 clients was $465 less than that of our 2009 clients, and 12% of clients were receiving unemployment compensation, up from 8% in 2009.  These taxpayers represent some of the individuals hardest hit by the recession: the newly unemployed, the working poor and those attempting to get by on a patchwork of minimum wage jobs.

Fortunately, several new provisions to the tax code introduced by Congress as part of last year’s Recovery Act allowed our tax clients to receive larger refunds this year than in previous tax years.  The average tax refund for our clients in 2010 was $1,981, an increase of $282 over 2009’s average refund of $1,699.  Tax refunds are, for many of our clients, the largest single infusion of cash they receive all year, and a larger refund can make a real impact on a household budget of $19,000.  The increased refund size for our 2010 tax clients stemmed primarily from 3 significant tax code changes, which President Obama is proposing to make permanent in his 2011 budget.

Supporting Children: Child Tax Credit

The CTC allows low- and moderate-income families to cover some of the added costs of raising children while encouraging parents to work.  Prior to tax year 2009, the CTC was refundable only to families earning more than $13,000.  For 2009, the Recovery Act made families eligible once they earned $3,000, with the size of the credit growing with the family’s earnings.  If Congress does not make this improvement permanent, the poorest families will lose access to the full credit; for example, a parent working for the minimum wage and raising two kids in Washington would see her credit cut from $2,000 to less than $650.  The extension of the credit is a cost effective way to prevent already poor children from falling into deeper poverty, thereby circumventing significant long term costs to our community as a whole.

Encouraging Work: Earned Income Tax Credit

The EITC is a federal tax credit for low- and moderate-income working people designed to encourage and reward work.  Prior to tax year 2009, families with three or more children received the same EITC benefits as those with two children, in spite of larger families’ higher living expenses.  The change introduced in the Recovery Act responded both to the increased costs of raising more children and to the greater likelihood of poverty in larger families.  For United Way of King County’s tax clients, the average EITC grew from $1,452 in 2009 to $1,630 in 2010, and the overall total of EITC dollars returned to the community through our program increased from $5.2 million in 2009 to $6.3 million in 2010.  Making the improvements to the EITC permanent will mean not only distributing funds to larger families who live on the precipice of poverty, but increasing the federal dollars to be spent and circulated in our community.

Promoting Education: American Opportunity Tax Credit

The Recovery Act also revised the Hope Education Credit, renaming it the American Opportunity Tax Credit, and rendering it available to millions of low- and moderate-income students for the first time. The changes raised the maximum value of the credit from $1,800 to $2,500, made the first $1,000 of the credit refundable and allowed students to claim the credit for four years of education instead of two.  Before this improvement, married couples earning less than $26,000 with one child in college and another younger child would be ineligible for the credit.  In this time of high unemployment, it makes sense for members of our community to upgrade their skills and prepare for jobs with career potential. Most federal tax assistance for college study is primarily helpful to households with incomes of $100,000 – $200,000. This credit supports higher education for students for whom it could otherwise be unaffordable

Making these improvements to the tax code permanent will help low-income working families in King County withstand the loss of income from the recession, prevent millions from slipping into poverty, and sustain economic growth, now and for years to come.  In 2010, the United Way’s 600 volunteer tax preparers saw these credits help parents whose earnings had dropped in the recession, and help children, families and the economy by preventing disastrous reductions in purchases of food and other necessities. Extending these credits will provide significant help to families living on the poverty line, easing their daily struggle to make ends meet.

Unfortunately I don’t have the cure for Seattle’s parking woes, but I did stumble on something a few cities around the country are doing that makes parking your car a slightly less painful experience by transforming it into a novel way to raise money for people experiencing homelessness. 

First conceived in Baltimore, the idea entails putting in place “optional” parking meters where motorists and passersby can donate spare change to service providers and other organizations assisting the most vulnerable among us. As you can see in the picture above, the meters are innovatively painted and labeled to attract potential donors,  and carry the added the benefit of a welcome aesthetic change to the drab coin meters we’re used to.

In Denver, 86 meters have generated roughly $100,000 , proving especially popular among empathetic downtowners searching for an alternative to giving money to panhandlers. Although there is wide variation in the amount of money the meters have raised from region to region, cities from Las Vegas to Montreal have expressed interest in the program, and many downtown businesses have sponsored or adopted individual meters as a unique and visible form of local philanthropy.

Now parking with a social conscience has made its first inroads to the Northwest, with the city of Springfield, Oregon adding some bright red parking meters under its “Change for Change” program. A 50-cent donation to one of the meters buys a homeless person a shower, $1 provides a hot meal, $3 means a bus pass and a $5 donation pays for a sleeping bag.

So what do you think? Is this something Seattleites would respond favorably to, or simply a gimmick that might be popular now but will inevitably fade?

Dr. Don Berwick, President Obama’s nominee to become the head of Medicare and Medicaid, visited United Way of King County last year and declared that 40% of good health is  “a roof over your head”.  To that end, Seattle citizens overwhelmingly voted last November for the $145 million Seattle Housing Levy Renewal, agreeing to extend the tax through 2016.

Now comes the thorny, technical par: figuring out how to spend those dollars in an effective, strategic, and efficient manner. Last month, the City of Seattle approved a Housing Levy plan for the next two years to allocate funds for affordable housing.   It means good news for United Way of King County’s collaborative efforts with the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness and also efforts being made to assist chronically homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing.  The recently approved plan puts Seattle on a path to commit $145 million to provide affordable housing via rental housing production (1,670 units), home ownership (180 homes), operating support (220 units) and rental housing assistance (3,025 households), all by the end of 2016.

A key part of the Housing Levy that supports housing for people moving out of homelessness is rental housing production.  Roughly $104 million of the overall Levy funds will be used to preserve and develop 1,670 units of affordable rental housing.  The City requires that “at least” 60% of these funds be used to develop housing for people at 0 to 30% median income.  Much of these funds can be used to  provide new housing for people moving out of homelessness.  The remaining funds must be used to house people with incomes greater than 30% and up to 80% of median income.

The City of Seattle plays a crucial role in  providing funding for affordable housing, much of which  provides  housing for people moving out  of homelessness. Typically the City provides just a portion of the financing  for affordable housing developments, leveraging funds from private and public sources such as an investor tax credit program and the Washington State Housing Trust Fund.

The Housing Levy priorities recommended by the City of Seattle in their initial two-year spending plan are to serve “vulnerable people in our community, including seniors and people with disabilities, families and individuals who are either experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of homelessness, and people who earn low-wages and have difficulty finding housing they can afford.”  The City goes onto declare that a key goal for the Office of Housing will be rental housing that “contributes to City and Countywide efforts to end homelessness: preservation or new construction of housing serving individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.”

This is good news for providing badly needed housing for people experiencing homelessness and good news for United Way and its partners in the effort to reduce and end homelessness in King County!

Thanks and congratulations to the many, many people and organizations who helped maintain this essential strand of the safety net – despite generally uphill battles in the Senate and Governor’s Office! Overcoming those difficulties was not easy. You can read why our CEO thinks GAU is important here.

Some of the notable cuts to the program include imposing a 24-month limit on benefits, meaning roughly 3,600 individuals could lose their GAU-sponsored healthcare on September 1. Governor Gregoire also vetoed the legislature’s proposal to prioritize ineligible disability lifeline recipients for enrollment in the subsidized Basic Health Plan, arguing that it would limit the Health Care Authority’s ability to efficiently manage Basic Health.

Now one of our  favorite youth leadership programs, Solid Ground’s Penny Harvest, is in jeopardy of not being able to continue into the next school year. Established in Seattle in the early 1990′s, Penny Harvest is at first glance a coin drive  in which elementary and high school students throughout  Western Washington mine their lockers, sofas and sidewalks for pennies, and then collectively decide to donate their “harvest” to non-profits they deem worthy of the funds.

But it’s really much more than that. Penny Harvest is a year-round series of service-learning activities that help students apply classroom lessons to real world problems. Student donor committees are formed at each school to decide the best destination for their pennies, and the students who participate in them are nothing less than extraordinary. I met a few of them earlier this week, none over the age of 12, and they were more articulate and passionate about the program than I am about fantasy baseball…and I am very passionate about fantasy baseball.

Students love Penny Harvest, as do educators and parents. But unfortunately, the program has lost two major funding sources and is scrambling to finance the program’s operational costs for next year.

If you want to see the impact of the program firsthand, check out this piece KCPQ ran a couple days ago. If you want more information on the program or are already eager to donate, please click here.

Last week, over 1,100 volunteers and staff from United Ways around the country met with 440 Congressmen and Senators on Capital Hill to advocate for a number of priorities including: reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act; increased funding for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA); and support for state 2-1-1 (information and referral) programs. The advocacy efforts blanketed the Hill in a single afternoon and happened several days before passage of health care reform. The effort added nine new co-sponsors for the Calling for 2-1-1 bill.

Impact of Health Care Reform on Early Learning

The federal health care reform legislation just passed by Congress and signed by President Obama contains several provisions that will affect Washington’s youngest population. These include dollars for voluntary home visiting programs that work with parents and children from birth to 5 years old in order to improve school readiness, a United Way priority area, as well as decrease child abuse and neglect. HR 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), includes $1.5 billion in federal funding over the next five years for state-based home visiting programs serving families with young children and families expecting children.

The Home Visitation Grant Program will be administered at the federal level by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in collaboration with the Administration for Children & Families (ACF). Which entity at the state level will have this responsibility is not spelled out in the legislation.