Cheryl Markman, Program Manager for King County Housing & Community Development Program has sent the Fall 2010 King County Combined Funders Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Homeless Housing. It is released and is attached to this e-mail.

2010 Combined NOFA - final version.pdf

As you’ve probably heard, earlier this week the King County Council voted on a proposal to put a .2% Public Safety Sales Tax on the August ballot for voter consideration The final vote of 5 yeas did not meet the required 6 yes votes needed to pass the proposal at this late date. In addition to funding existing criminal justice programs, the proposal would likely have helped fund a small portion of critical human services that support criminal justice efforts, such as domestic violence and sexual assault support resources and some youth services.

The following day Council also voted on, but did not pass, a property tax measure for the August ballot that would have funded similar programs and services.  The last opportunity for a ballot measure this year is for the November election. 

What does this mean for human services?

Because of the timing of the 2011 budget process the County Executive will be forced to submit an all cuts budget; it is unlikely that there will be any general fund dollars for Human Services in that budget .

Even if a revenue initiative is put on the November ballot and approved by the voters, that measure will not go into effect until April and will not provide the level of funding needed for human services.

Now we need to come together again and focus on a long term solution for dedicated, adequate funding for regional community health and human services.  We’ll start talking with the Executive and Council members again about their solutions, and gather the data and stories to deliver effective messages both about the needs, and the benefits in building strong, healthy communities.

As  Alliance members, our work through the upcoming budget process, even though it is not likely to result in any significant amount of funding in the 2011 budget and certainly no long term funding, will be to advocate  strongly and effectively for long term, adequate, dedicated funding for community health and human services

We’ll need to begin this work right away so that we lay the foundation that we will need to be successful. 

The King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is pleased to announce the release of an RFP for its Outreach to Minority and Women Veterans Project.  DCHS is accepting proposals from agencies to provide outreach services to connect minority and women veterans to veterans’ benefits, services and other resources in a culturally appropriate manner.  The purpose of this project will be to locate, identify, engage and refer minority and women veterans and their families, to veterans benefits, services and resources, and other regional housing, health and human services available to them, providing advocacy and follow-up as needed.  Agencies will be expected to develop or expand their knowledge of issues facing veterans and their families; to retain and report performance measures; and to follow-up with clients once a referral has been made. Collaborative, inter-agency proposals will be accepted.

Request for Proposals application packet is attached and also available on the Levy’s website at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/DCHS/Services/Levy/LevyRFPs.aspx on Wednesday, December 23, 2009.  You may also receive an application packet by contacting: Marcy Kubbs at marcy.kubbs@kingcounty.gov or calling (206) 263-9102 during business hours.  (King County offices will be closed on December 24 for a furlough day and December 25 for a holiday.) 

A pre-proposal conference will be held January 20, 2010 from 9:30 am - noon at 401 Fifth Avenue, Room 115, Seattle, WA 98104.  All applications need to be received by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 19, 2010.

Document link:  Outreach RFP Dec 23 09.doc

Seattle Mennonite Church is looking for volunteer help to staff the Lake City Emergency Severe Weather Shelter. The nights are divided into two shifts; individuals or groups can volunteer to set up/break down and monitor the shelter. Orientation is provided for volunteers. 

 Lake City Emergency Severe Weather Shelter

Please recruit for emergency shelter as weather turns cold (see schedule below). If you want to coordinate a group for an evening - that's great! Jonathan Neufeld will orient new people and confirm evenings that emergency shelter will open. Please include contact information! See guidelines below - thanks!

Volunteer Guidelines for Emergency Cold Weather Shelter

□       Volunteers can put belongings in lounge area

□       Turn on the heat. Thermostat is on the south wall by the door, press the ‘Sun’ button. Press the ‘moon’ button when leaving in the morning.

□       Sign people in

□       Bring out cots for people to set up – they are stored in closet. Keep cots 3 feet from heaters. Wipe down the cots before putting them back in the morning. Instructions and cleaning supplies are in a bucket in the closet.

□       Feel free to access food in the kitchen if people are hungry. Encourage the guests to help in preparation.

□       Partial lights out by 10:30 pm, with an encouragement for people to settle down.

□       Complete lights out by 11 pm. If someone cannot settle, or is being a disturbance to others, they can be asked to leave. Leave the hall way light on.

□       Evening and Night Volunteers should overlap, and have a brief check-in, information sharing time of about 10 minutes to update the new volunteers of areas of concern or gratitude.

□       Feel free to redirect conversation that is inappropriate. Encourage respect for the people who need to rest.

□       The kitchen is closed after lights out.

□       Guests should be waking by 6 am, so they can be on their way by 7 am. Feel free to access the food cupboard for breakfast.

□       When you leave – please have the kitchen cleaned and ready for another group to use it. Unplug the coffee maker. Wipe down and put away cots. Sweep. Check bathrooms. Make sure all the lights are turned off. Be sure to lock the ASR door, if you don’t have a key – you can lock the door from the inside and then exit through the church office entrance. To lock door, pull up on handle, turn the lock, and release the handle.

□       If you have any problems, you can call:

o       Jonathan or Melanie Neufeld – 206-417-9736

o       Marvin Miller – 206-364-0637

o       Weldon Nisly – 206-368-7529

□       CALL 911 – in the event of ANY threat or disturbance that is beyond your capabilities.  Address: 3120 NE 125^th St.

Melanie Neufeld

--
Community Minister Seattle Mennonite Church 3120 NE 125th St.
(206)361-4630 ext. 7 http://seattle.wa.us.mennonite.net/

Please join the Low Income Housing Institute

As we celebrate the grand opening of

McDermott Place

75 Units for Homeless Veterans & Other Individuals

Named in Honor of U.S.

Rep. Jim McDermott

The grand opening celebration for McDermott Place, in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood, is scheduled for Saturday December 12 at 10:00 am. The event will take place at McDermott Place, located at 12740 33^rd Ave NE, across the street from the Lake City Fred Meyer store.

The celebration will feature a tour of this “green” building and comments from Congressman Jim McDermott, King County Council member Larry Gossett, Jon Fine President & CEO of United Way of King County, Lisa Vatske of Dept. of Commerce, State Director of Veterans Affairs John Lee, Randy Robinson of KeyBank, North Helpline Executive Director Amy Besunder, and LIHI Board Member Alan Castle. Mayor-elect Mike McGinn and King County Executive-elect Dow Constantine have been invited.

McDermott Place will provide 75 permanent affordable housing units for homeless individuals, with 38 of the units designated specifically for veterans. North Helpline, a non-profit organization based in Lake City, will own a portion of the building at which they will operate the Lake City/Northgate Food Bank and the RotaCare Medical Clinic. LIHI is partnering with Sound Mental Health to provide supportive services, including employment & job training.

The building has been named in honor of Congressman Jim McDermott, who has served constituents in Washington state since 1970 in both the State and Federal Legislatures.  “McDermott Place is all about dignity, self-respect, and self-worth. These 75 affordable housing units will stand in affirmation to the principal and values that matter to us as a community, especially our determination to honor and care for our soldiers,” said McDermott.

When: Saturday December 12. 10:00 am until noon.

Where: McDermott Place

12740 33^rd Ave NE

Seattle, WA 98125

For more information: please contact Sharon Lee, LIHI Executive Director, (206) 571-5730 or SharonL@lihi.org

Transportation Plan for People with Special Needs

Transportation is a major problem for low income families, the elderly, disabled, youth and others in North King County. The King County Coordinated Special Needs Transportation Steering Committee is working to improve transportation options for special needs groups in King County. Representing North and East King County on the Committee is Alex O’Reilly, Human Services Planner, City of Bellevue and Co-Chair of the group. George Smith, President of NUHSA, is the alternate representative from North and East King County. The Committee just completed an update of the Transportation Plan for 2010. The 2010 update goes on to the Puget Sound Regional Council for adoption as part of the official regional transportation plan.

Please take a few minutes to review the existing transportation programs. Did you know, for example, there are 16 volunteer ride programs in King County and that Shoreline/Lake Forest Park and North shore Senior Centers both operate shuttle buses to transport people to the senior centers and to essential local services. Another innovative program Bus Buddies, provides personalized one-on-one travel orientation for seniors, people who speak limited English, those with low income, people with special needs and youth. The Needs Assessment provides a good summary of the issues and goals and the strategies section outlines what is planned to improve transportation. If you have comments or suggestions for the Steering Committee, or if you see opportunities for North King County to improve services, please contact George Smith, gsmith@shorelinewa.gov with your ideas.

Please click on the link below to review the existing transportation programs:

2010 King County Plan Update.doc

November 23rd the King County 2010 Budget was adopted.

"These were ugly, ugly, ugly decisions. It's sort of like saying, 'Do you want to feed your oldest, your middle or your next child?' " said Kathy Lambert, a member of the council's budget leadership team. More here

Advocates for meeting basic human needs throughout King County: 

King County Council passed their 2010 King County budget yesterday afternoon with severe cuts in urgently needed services. 

There was some good news amongst the bad.  The Executive’s proposed budget included cuts of 64% in community service contracts for human services, and the budget that Council passed yesterday restored some of those services for a lower total of 46% cuts from 2009 funding levels.

Using “impact on public safety” as their guide, Council restored $1.4 million in domestic violence and sexual assault services.  This was very difficult to do when they had to make $6.4 million in cuts from the budget the Exec sent over before they could even begin to add anything.  Everyone who advocated for keeping community health and human services at the 2009 funding levels influenced this decision.  Good work, all!

We commend the Council for the services they restored; however, we are painfully aware that they left unfunded over $3 million in services previously funded in 2009 that are urgently needed throughout King County including emergency food distribution, information and referral services, senior centers and adult day health, as well as shelter for people without homes including all emergency shelter funding for youth living on the streets of King County.

What happens now?

Coming out of this budget, for the first time we have a diverse majority of County Council and the new Executive (as of 4pm this afternoon) all agreeing that we need new revenue sources to repair the structural deficit in King County budget.  Now, we must gather our energies and use this growing momentum to insist that a long term funding solution for community health and human services be identified and implemented to restore funding to an acceptable base level.

United Way of King County is recruiting people of color for the 2010 session of Project LEAD (Leadership, Effectiveness and Diversity) and we need your help to get the word out.  The application deadline is Friday, December 11th, 2009.  More information on Project LEAD, including the class schedule and application is available at http://www.uwkc.org/volunteer/lead/default.asp. 

Please forward this message to anyone who you think might be interested. Below is additional information on the program that you can include when you send this to potential applicants.

SPECIAL NOTE:  If you know of an organization that needs board or committee members, please encourage them to register or update those opportunities on our website at http://www.volunteersolutions.org/uwkc/agency/.  Potential board members (including Project LEAD graduates) utilize this site to identify ways to serve.

Thanks for your help! 

Louis Mendoza - Volunteer Initiatives Manager

United Way of King County

ph # 206-461-3777   fax # 206-461-8495

Email: lmendoza@uwkc.org

Keiko Chu-Yamada
Team Assistant, Community Services
Phone: (206) 461-6906/ Fax: (206) 461-8495
Email: kcyamada@uwkc.org

***************************************************************************************************************

Project LEAD is an in-depth leadership program that focuses on recruiting, training and connecting people of color to boards and committees of local non-profit organizations.  The program provides a fast track for highly qualified individuals to develop the knowledge base they need to become key volunteers at local nonprofits.  Participants examine the governance of non-profit organizations and the legal and financial responsibilities of board members. Project LEAD then provides tools, information and introductions to help participants select a board to serve.

Over the past 17 years, over 760 leaders have graduated from the program. In a survey of Project LEAD graduates 90% felt more prepared to fill key leadership roles on their board, and 94% said they acquired skills that translated directly back to their professional lives. In addition, non-profit and civic organizations in this area benefit tremendously from the experience that Project LEAD graduates bring to their boards. 

Details of the program and the application can be found at http://www.uwkc.org/volunteer/lead/default.asp.  Please submit completed applications by Friday, December 11, 2009.  To receive an application in the mail or if you have questions, please contact the Volunteer Center at 206.461.6906 or projectlead@uwkc.org.

The King County Alliance for Human Services has created 4 public service announcements to highlight human services needs across the county and the impact current proposed cuts will have in 2010 and beyond.  Visit www.kingcountyalliance.com to view these powerful messages and take action:

• Contact County Council and urge them to maintain current funding levels for human services through 2010 while a long term solution is found.
• Share the PSA's on your facebook and twitter or other social networking sites
• Send an email or forward this one to your agency staff, board members and stakeholders directing them to our site
• Post these videos to your agency's website- forward this email to your webmaster and ask them- they know how!

Thank you

The Regional Special Needs Transportation Plan is up for revision. Find links to the current plan, a draft update of the transportation inventory for King County and a flyer on a November 19^th Community Conversation about how to improve transportation options for special needs groups including seniors, youth, low income and people with disabilities in North and East King County. A panel composed of resource people from METRO, Sound Transit, Senior Services, Hopelink and others will present followed by an opportunity to share ideas and network about solutions.” If you can’t attend the meeting, options for submitting written comments, suggestions and ideas are included.

KCSNTC Inventory.doc     Update from Oct 27 Meeting.doc        Nov 19 Flyer.doc