WASHINGTON LOW INCOME HOUSING ALLIANCE
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Mission Statement
The mission of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance is to lead the movement to ensure that all our residents thrive in safe, healthy, affordable homes. We do this through advocacy, education, and organizing. Our vision is that all Washington residents have the opportunity to live in safe, healthy, affordable homes in thriving communities.
About This Cause
Everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe, healthy, affordable home, but according to the 2015 Washington State Housing Needs Assessment, almost 200,000 of the poorest families in our state are spending more than half their income for housing and making desperate choices between necessities like food and medicine, or rent to keep a roof over their heads. Our state's public schools counted 32,494 homeless students in classrooms last year. Native American and Black students are three times more likely to be homeless than their white peers, further expanding the opportunity gap. And in King County in January, One Night Count volunteers found 21% more people surviving outdoors than in 2014. The Housing Alliance works to solve the affordable housing and homelessness crisis by improving public policy to make affordable homes more available for low-income households, preserving and strengthening the safety net, and improving the systems that serve people experiencing homelessness. We are the only statewide organization that brings together housing and homelessness service providers, nonprofit board members, people struggling to afford a home, faith communities, and more, to advocate for solutions. Founded in 1988, the Housing Alliance is a trusted leader and expert on housing and homelessness. Along with a strong combination of housing and homelessness organizations, funders, services providers and individual advocates, we work closely with elected officials to turn good ideas into sound policy. Board Advocacy Project Our Board Advocacy Project was created because nonprofit board members are an enormous untapped resource who can - and must - play a pivotal role in the movement to end homelessness. We start with capacity-building tools for integrating advocacy into affordable housing and homelessness nonprofits. Then we connect this with the most important legislative issues impacting our state today. Our emails provide tips on how to strengthen the power of nonprofit board's advocacy efforts and real-life examples of organizations in Washington State that have successfully integrated advocacy into their board work and how they accomplished it. Emerging Advocates Program Everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe, healthy, affordable home. Unfortunately, many people all over Washington have stories of denied opportunity, housing instability, and of how bad policy has resulted in homelessness. No one can tell these stories like someone who's lived it. The Housing Alliance supports people who have experienced homelessness or housing instability in advocating for positive policy change through our Emerging Advocates Program (EAP). Our first cohort in fall 2013 offered six weekly sessions on a range of skills for effective advocacy, with ongoing support for participants as advocates. Due to overwhelming interest (over 90 formerly or currently homeless individuals applied), we offered three sessions last summer in Seattle and Yakima. A total of 38 individuals have completed the program so far. They have shared their stories with legislators and reporters, used social media skills to speak out on homelessness issues, and supported their peers to start advocating for themselves and their communities. At this year's Conference on Ending Homelessness in Tacoma, we'll also be offering an "EAP track" supporting low-income individuals who are interested to apply for scholarships and prepare them for what to expect at the Conference. We've also enlisted an EAP graduate as a paid co-facilitator to help plan and support future sessions. RECENT SUCCESSES AND CURRENT CHALLENGES 2014 Legislative Session Last year, despite an extremely difficult session, the Housing Alliance successfully prevented almost $200 million of homelessness service funding from sunsetting, preventing homelessness for approximately 32,000 people. When a committee chair killed the bill protecting these services, we went into nonstop emergency mode to spread the news far and wide. In two weeks, we saw over 70 total media hits from all over Washington about the “legislative malpractice” that killed the Document Recording Fee Bill. Media attention, combined with the mobilization of our 140+ statewide member organizations, and thousands of individual advocates ensured the technically dead bill was passed in the final house of the 2014 legislative session. Current Need Thanks in part to strong support from our foundation partners, the Housing Alliance has become a powerful and effective force for change and we have a strong infrastructure in place to continue our work. However, a significant funder is shifting their focus and ramping down our support over a three-year period. Increased support from individuals will prevent the Housing Alliance from losing the ground work we've laid and advocacy infrastructure we've created since 2008. As the state economy improves, we anticipate being able to secure greater investments in affordable homes and other solutions to homelessness in the coming years. That potential combined with the growing need means this is just the wrong time for us to scale back our work. There’s never been a more urgent time for our movement to raise a strong, collective voice for change. Please donate today and support a safe, healthy, affordable home for all!