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Everyone should have a safe, stable place to call home. Stable and safe housing helps kids learn. It helps families stay together and younger adults stay in their home community. It helps ensure a healthy workforce and households that have money left to spend in their local economy. It helps communities stay resilient.
But Washington faces a growing affordable housing and homelessness crisis that impacts every community in our state. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s Gap Report, our state is short almost 198,000 homes affordable for households considered very low income (earning less than half the area median income.)
Data from the Department of Commerce projects that Washington needs more than one million additional homes by 2044 and more than half must be affordable to people earning below 50% of the area median income. This includes more than 116,000 units of permanent supportive housing.
Solving homelessness and the affordable housing crisis will take investments that match the scale of the challenge. The final budgets must include the bold investments we need.
- Follow the Governor’s lead and infuse our state with $4 billion for affordable homes. And jump start this bold investment with at least a $400 million investment in the Housing Trust Fund in this year’s capital budget.
- Prevent an immediate loss of homelessness funding by filling the up to $160 million gap in document recording fee revenue that funds homelessness services across the state.
- Invest $40 million to increase contracts for housing and homelessness service providers to address the workforce crisis.
- Fund HB 1260 (Alvarado) to stop requiring low-income disabled people to pay back Aged, Blind and Disabled benefits after they qualify for federal benefits ($40 million budget impact).
- Prevent evictions by investing in the Right to Counsel program ($4.4 million) for tenants in eviction court and early intervention civil legal aid for tenants at risk of eviction, but not yet eligible for Right to Counsel ($5 million).
- Increase the Governor’s permanent investment in the Housing and Essential Needs rental assistance program by an additional $11.5 million to a total ongoing increase of $26.5 million to prevent cuts from the current (Fiscal Year 21-23) funding level.
Solutions to our state’s affordable housing and homelessness crisis are within reach and voters want to see progress. December polling showed that homelessness continues to be voters' top concern and that there is strong support for increased funding to address homelessness and affordable housing.
This is the time to make the investments we need to move toward a day when everyone in Washington has a safe, healthy, affordable home.
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45th LD Democrats, Redmond |
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A Way Home Washington, Statewide |
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Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition, Statewide |
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Association of Manufactured Home Owners - AMHO, Statewide |
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Be:Seattle, Seattle |
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Beacon Development Group, Statewide |
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Benton County Human Services, Benton and Franklin Counties |
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BIPOC ED Coalition, Statewide |
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Bounding Rabbit Productions, providing local, state & national technical assistance |
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Build A Bus Home, Thurston County |
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Building Changes, Statewide |
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Campion Advocacy Fund, Statewide |
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Carl Maxey Center, Statewide |
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Catholic Charities serving Central Washington, Central WA |
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Catholic Community Services, Western Washington |
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Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program, SW Washington / Clark County |
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Cocoon House, Snohomish County |
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Columbia City Church of Hope, Seattle |
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Colville Indian Housing Authority, Okanogan and Ferry Counties |
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Community Action Center, Whitman County |
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Community Action of Skagit County, Skagit, Snohomish, Island & San Juan Counties |
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Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, Cowlitz, Clark & Skamania Counties |
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Compass Housing Alliance, King County |
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Council for the Homeless, Clark County |
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Eastside For All, East King County |
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El Centro de la Raza, King County |
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Essentials First, Statewide |
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Evergreen Treatment Services, King and Pierce Counties |
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Fair Housing Center of Washington, Western Washington |
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Faith Action Network, Statewide |
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Family Support Center of South Sound, Thurston County, Mason, Lewis County |
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Food Lifeline, Statewide |
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FOTi Families of the Incarcerated, Statewide |
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FPATH, Pierce County |
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Futurewise, Statewide |
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Habitat for Humanity of Snohomish County, Snohomish County |
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Hispanic Disability Support SWWA (Pasitos Gigantes), Clark |
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Homes And Hope Community Land Trust, Snohomish County |
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Housing Consortium of Everett & Snohomish County, Snohomish County |
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Housing Development Consortium of Seattle, King County |
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Housing Hope, Snohomish County |
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Housing Solutions Network, East Jefferson County |
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HRP&GP/Human Rights Protection & Global Peace, Washington |
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Imagine Housing, East King County |
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Indivisible Plus Washington, Statewide |
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Indivisible Vashon, Vashon-Maury Islands |
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Indivisible Washington's 8th District, Congressional District 8 |
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Interfaith Family Shelter, Snohomish County |
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InterIm CDA, Seattle |
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Jewish Family Service, Puget Sound area |
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King County Regional Homelessness Authority, King County |
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Lake Forest Park Citizens’ Commission, Lake Forest Park |
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LISC Puget Sound, Puget Sound |
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Madrona Community Development spc, Northwest WA |
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MAPS-MCRC, Statewide |
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Mary's Place, King County |
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MCRC, Statewide |
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NAMI WA, Statewide |
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National Homelessness Law Center, Statewide, National |
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NAYA-Action Fund, Southwest Washington |
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Neighborhood House, King County |
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New Connections, Statewide |
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Northwest Cooperative Development Center, Statewide |
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Northwest Youth Services, Statewide |
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Odyssey World International Education Services, Statewide |
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Okanogan County Community Action Council, Okanogan County |
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Olympia Indivisible, Thurston County |
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OPAL Community Land Trust, San Juan County |
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Opportunity Council, Island, San Juan, Whatcom counties |
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Outsiders Inn, Vancouver Clark County |
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Parallax Perspectives, Olympia |
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Parkwood Neighborhood Alliance, Statewide |
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Partners for Rural Washington, Statewide |
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Paul Schissler Associates, Inc., Northwest WA |
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Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane, Regional primarily Spokane County |
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Plymouth Housing, King County |
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Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, Statewide |
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Queen Anne Helpline, Greater Seattle area |
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Rebuilding Together South Sound, Pierce County |
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Riveters Collective, Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan County |
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Rural Resources Community Action, Eastern Washington |
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Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, Seattle/King County |
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Second Step Housing, Clark County |
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Share the Wealth, worldwide |
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Snohomish County Public Defender Association, Snohomish County |
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Society of St Vincent de Paul of Snohomish County, Statewide, Snohomish County |
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Solid Ground, Seattle/King County |
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South Sound Psychotherapy PLLC, Thurston and Mason Counties |
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SouthEast Effective Development, Seattle |
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Southwest Washington Equity Coalition, SW Washington |
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Spectrum Center Spokane, Spokane, and the Eastern Washington/North Idaho region |
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Spokane Ecosocialist, Spokane |
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Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium, Spokane County |
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Statewide Poverty Action Network, Statewide |
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SW WA BIPOC Legislative Workgroup, Southwest Washington |
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SWACH, SW Washington |
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Tacoma Urban League, Pierce County/Tacoma |
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Tacoma-Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium, Pierce County |
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Tenant Law Center, King County |
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Tenants Union of WA, Statewide |
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The Carl Maxey Center, Spokane |
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The Mockingbird Society, Statewide |
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Third Place Design Co-operative, Statewide |
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Thrive2Survive, Statewide |
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Transit Riders Union, Seattle, Tukwila, King County |
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United Way of King County, Statewide |
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Urban Indians Northwest, Western WA Salish Sea |
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Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, King County |
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Valley Cities, Seattle, Kent, Renton, Auburn, Federal Way |
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Vancouver Housing Authority, Clark County |
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Vashon Household, Vashon Island |
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WA People's Privacy, Statewide |
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Wallingford Indivisible, North Seattle |
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Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Statewide |
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Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Statewide |
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Washington Poor People's Campaign, Statewide |
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Washington State Budget and Policy Center, Statewide |
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Washington State Community Action Partnership, Statewide |
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Welcome Home Skagit, Skagit County |
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What is a little girl supposed to do, Statewide |
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Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, Whatcom County |
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Whatcom Peace & Justice Center, Whatcom County |
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XChange, Clark and Skamania Counties |
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Xs attic llc, Statewide, Vancouver |
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YouthCare, King County |
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YWCA Clark County, Clark County |
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