Wednesday April 14, 2021 Dear Mayor Durkan, I was disappointed to see your response to the valid community concerns about your planned sweep of homeless people sheltering in Miller Park this Friday, April 16. Both the response from your office (below) and from the Human Services Department (HSD) under your direction, ignore the demands of […]

March 12, 2021 – originally sent at 10:35 AM Dear Miller Park residents and all community members,  Thank you for contacting my Council office about your concerns around Miller Park and Playfield, where many facing homelessness were pushed following the inhumane sweep of Cal Anderson Park earlier this year.  No one should have to live […]

Dear fellow housing justice advocates, Thank you so much for all of your great work on the Build 1,000 Homes campaign! In the last two weeks, our coalition of 65-plus organizations has called, emailed, and met with City Councilmembers to urge them to Build 1,000 Homes. We have succeeded in showing the Council that there […]

On October 25, the Church Council of Greater Seattle led a coalition of 18 congregations and 68 faith leaders calling on Councilmembers to support the growing campaign to build 1,000 homes, and to vote YES when the budget amendment comes before Council. Read their letter (PDF) below. For the full list of sponsors, click here. Learn more […]

The Build 1,000 Homes Coalition keeps growing! From the People’s Budget Town Hall to the public hearings on the budget, one thing is clear: When ordinary people in Seattle have the opportunity to weigh in on the budget, they point to the urgent need for affordable housing and human services. In October, grassroots organizers rallied around […]

From the People’s Budget Town Hall to the public hearings on the budget, one thing is clear: When ordinary people in Seattle have the opportunity to weigh in on the budget, they point to the urgent need for affordable housing and human services. At the heart of our demands is an amendment to reallocate the $160 million […]

Yesterday, my office visited Camp Second Chance, a well-organized, self-managed, clean and sober homeless encampment in Seattle. It is currently located on unused city-owned land, in one of the Myers Way Parcels. At the beginning of August, with only 72 hours’ notice, the City almost evicted them with a characteristically inhumane homeless sweep. Homeless activists, public […]

On February 27, 2016, residents of Camp Dearborn, a homeless encampment in Seattle, spoke to the People’s Assembly about the struggles of being homeless, how the city has failed their community in the past, and what we need to demand to win the fight against homelessness here in Seattle. Thank you, everybody. It’s great to […]

On January 19, 2016, representatives of the Mayor’s office came and spoke to Council about their “Encampment Removal Protocols” – a euphemistic expression for escalating sweeps of homeless encampments. The city is demolishing unauthorized encampments, evicting people from the only shelter they can find. Where should these Seattleites go? Shelters are full, and there is a Civil State of Emergency […]

With the Council’s recognition of the Mayor’s Proclamation of Civil Emergency on homelessness, the City of Seattle has the opportunity to dramatically escalate the fight against homelessness. Activists and social service providers have been organizing for decades to win this admission from the City government, and I want to thank everyone for the work they have done. I […]