Community planning processes take a lot of work. I recently participated in one such process and worked on the resulting report,
A Landscape Assessment and Strategic Plan for Increasing Economic Opportunities for People Experiencing Homelessness in Whatcom County. The goal of the plan is pretty straightforward: expand the opportunities of people who have experienced homelessness to develop skills, increase income, and improve self-sufficiency.
What did it take to pull the plan together? For one, a committed Steering Committee -- with leadership from Greg Winter of Whatcom Homeless Service Center and Barbara Leveque of Whatcom Community College -- that met once a month for almost a year. Getting homeless and employment services providers that had never met before in the same room was key,
Talk to your friends, family, or even people who provide services to people experiencing homelessness, and when the topic of employment comes up, many will say to you "those people can't work. They don't have the skills, they don't have the education, they don't have the desire." Sound familiar?
Well, I believe that those assertions are flat out untrue. Programs in our state, like the Seattle Conservation Corps, Washington Women's Employment and Education, and Pioneer Human Services, have demonstrated the importance of job training and placement services for populations with barriers to work for more than a decade. More and more agencies are joining their ranks. In the past couple of years, great progress has been made in Washington State to develop new pathways to economic opportunities
Recently, Washington Families Fund and Sound Families grantees gathered to attend our recent training, "Increasing Earned Income for Homeless Families: Strategies for Being a Change Agent at Your Agency." The Tacoma Housing Authority graciously hosted. I had the privilege of facilitating, along with Mark Putnam from Building Changes and national employment for the homeless expert, John Rio, from Advocates for Human Potential. Twenty-five people from six counties (Pierce, King, Snohomish, Thurston, Clallam, and Whatcom) participated.
It was a long day, jam-packed with information, questions, and worksheets that participants used to track key ideas and post-training action steps. I was encouraged and inspired by the passion of the training participants and their desire to continuously
In the middle of May, just as the weather in Washington State finally began warming up, homelessness providers and advocates from all over the state descended on the Vancouver Hilton for
three days of networking and learning organized by the Washington State Coalition for the Homeless (WSCH). We heard moving keynote speeches from Eric Tars of the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and formerly homeless Richard LeMieux, author of
Breakfast at Sally's. Several Building Changes staff members also participated in multiple workshops, meetings, and panel discussions.
Emily Nolan, Washington Families Fund Manager, spoke on a panel called Writing for Dollars, which focused on grant writing basics (and not-so-basics): deciding which grants to go after, leveraging fund sources,
Posted by: Mark Putnam in Washington State, Washington Families Fund, Trainings and Workshops, Supportive Housing, Snohomish County, Pierce County, King County, Homelessness, Homeless Grant Assistance Program HGAP, Families, Employment, Affordable Housing on
Apr 29, 2009
As I was driving through Skagit County the other day, taking in the tulips on the way back from meetings in Bellingham, I began thinking about the incredible range of work Building Changes is leading in many corners of the state. We are a Seattle-based agency, but we are working hard to make an impact beyond our headquarters. Consider:
Consulting Services:
On April 21 and 22, we continued our co-leadership of the Supportive Housing Institute, hosting two days of trainings (days 6 and 7 of the 12-day training series) in Sea-Tac in partnership with the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Common Ground. Five staff --
Erin Chambers,
Emily Nolan,
Mariah Ybarra,
Alice Shobe, and
myself -- provided trainings on supportive services planning, funding, and best practice models at the Institute.
Subscribe to this feed!