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Written by Patrick Kelley on 3 Mar 2010 | No Comments | Basic Needs , Homelessness
Have you filed your 2006 tax return?

Yesterday, the IRS released a statement indicating that there are more than $1.3 billion in unclaimed federal tax refunds for people who did not file for 2006. This includes approximately 37,000 filers in Washington state! If you are one of those people, you need to file your 2006 return by April 15, 2010, or you lose that refund…

Our sites can help!  Don’t miss out on your money!!

Written by Patrick Kelley on 25 Feb 2010 | No Comments | Homelessness

Disclaimer:  The views expressed in this post (or any post on this blog, for that matter) represent the opinion of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of United Way of King County staff or volunteers.

My logic tends towards the illogical, as many of you know, so try to stick with me here:

  • A ‘credit-default swap’ (also, I think, known as a ‘derivative’) is basically a contract that allows financial institutions to GAMBLE on whether or not a company will
  • Written by Patrick Kelley on 18 Feb 2010 | No Comments | Public Policy , Volunteering

    Get your taxes done for FREE!!

    Now through April 15, 2010, United Way of King County will operate 17 free tax preparation sites throughout King County.  Tax assistance will be provided by over 550 volunteers who are trained and certified by the IRS.

    Who is eligible for this service?

  • Anyone whose household made less than $50,000 in 2009
  • Basic tax returns only (NO rental income, business taxes, or sale of property or stock)
  • No appointment necessary
  • What services are available at tax sites?

  • Free, quality
  • Call 1-800-562-6000 TODAY

    Many of you have heard me talk about “permanent supportive housing” in previous posts.  Washington state’s Housing Trust Fund is the essential tool for the creation and preservation of permanent supportive housing. In order to keep up with the community need, an additional $100 million in funding should be added to the Housing Trust Fund. More than 70 percent of people served by the Fund make less than $17,540 per year, making it a vital resource in the fight to end homelessness.

    Funding the

    Written by Patrick Kelley on 29 Jan 2010 | One Comment | Homelessness
    Homelessness in the News, part 2

    (Photo from the SKCCH website)

    Here are the early results of last night’s One Night Count in King County.

    Last night, hundreds of volunteers for the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness fanned out throughout the County.  Between 2:00 AM and 6:00 AM, more than 130 teams of volunteers found 2759 people sleeping on the streets, in parks, in their cars, in temporary shelters and in makeshift campsites.

    More later…

    (Part 1 can be found here)

    Updated at 11:10…

    Written by Patrick Kelley on 29 Jan 2010 | No Comments | Homelessness
    Homelessness in the News
    (Photo from the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness)

    In addition to all of the great feedback on the site this week about our Hunger Challenge, here are a few other items that I wanted to let folks know about:

  • Last night in King County and this week in many places around the country, volunteers headed out into the night to perform the annual One Night Count.  Information gathered from these ‘moment in time’ assessments is used to
  • Here’s a nice re-cap of how the Earned Income Tax Credit can actually help break the cycle of poverty for someone, and why it’s so incredibly important to help people who receive the EITC to understand how to use the credit to build personal wealth and assets for the future.

    Get your taxes done for FREE!!

    Starting on January 12th, 2010, United Way of King County will operate 17 free tax preparation sites throughout King County.  Tax assistance will be provided by over 550 volunteers…

    Written by Patrick Kelley on 23 Jan 2010 | No Comments | Community News

    Ballots for the February 9th special election began arriving in our mailboxes last week.  Don’t let the thin-ness of your voter pamphlet fool you…this is a very important election for Seattle!  Just a reminder, we are 100% mail-in, so get your ballots filled out and returned by the 9th!

    For more info, call 206-296-VOTE, or visit King County Elections.

    Written by Patrick Kelley on 22 Jan 2010 | No Comments | Homelessness

    The perennial question in any democracy is always, how is the public interest informed and influenced by the most vulnerable in our society?“–from Democracy Matters by Dr. Cornel West

    I chose this title, and that quote, because so many things recently have struck me as relevantly irrelevant.  Go ahead and blame Bush for the war.  Blame Obama for the economy.  Look for the fattest paycheck you can find.  Just go home tonight, and sit around (and fail to see past) your dining…

    Written by Patrick Kelley on 15 Jan 2010 | No Comments | United Way News

    Get your taxes done for FREE!!

    Starting on January 12th, 2010, United Way of King County will operate 17 free tax preparation sites throughout King County.  Tax assistance will be provided by over 550 volunteers who are trained and certified by the IRS.

    Who is eligible for this service?

  • Anyone whose household made less than $50,000 in 2009
  • Basic tax returns only (NO rental income, business taxes, or sale of property or stock)
  • No appointment necessary
  • What services are available at tax sites?

  • Free, quality