About two hundred fifty people gathered Monday morning at Seattle Central College for the kick off of Operation: WelcomeOneHome, an ambitious plan that aims to eliminate veteran homelessness in King County by the end of 2015. King County officials called out landlords specifically, saying they have a key role to play in accepting veteran tenants.
Attendees included Senator Patty Murray, Mayor Ed Murray, King County Council member Joe McDermott, and House Speaker Frank Chopp.
In her keynote, Senator Murray urged local leaders and property owners to “fulfill our country’s promise to take care of men and women who sacrificed so much for us.”
Mayor Murray said “Nobody who served this country should be homeless in this city or this county.”
The King County initiative will provide homeless veterans with access to a rapid response hotline that will connect them to a case manager who will work to secure them housing. Case managers will also work with potential landlords to ensure a good fit in veteran placement. The county plans to create a risk mitigation fund for any problems that may arise.
Veteran homelessness has declined by a third since 2010 in King County, however more than six hundred veterans remain homeless. The homelessness problem has been exacerbated by the competitive rental market, where only 2% of rental units are vacant at any given time. Operation: WelcomeOneHome will support current homeless veterans in finding an available unit, and aims to also make homelessness a rare and brief event for future veterans who find themselves without a home.
The initiative has already provided a large number of homeless veterans with housing vouchers and supporters are calling on local landlords to accept them.
“As we meet today, over 225 veterans hold the ticket to ending homelessness in their hands. We need more landlords willing to take that ticket. Dedicating just one unit will make a difference. Ending homelessness in King County is possible one home at a time,” said King County Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett.
Supporters of the plan say that stable, permanent housing will give veterans the chance to secure employment and gain self-sufficiency. Operation: WelcomeOneHome is supported in-part by the Veterans and Human Services Levy which was renewed by voters in August 2011 and coordinated by the King County Regional Veterans Initiative.
If you are an interested landlord or want to find out more information about the initiative, visit onehomekc.org. If you are a veteran in need of housing, call 1-877-904-8387 between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday-Friday.
I love this.
This may be a wacky idea, I don’t know. But our nation’s military budget is absurdly high, right? Can’t we make the military fund housing for vets? Worse case scenario, they have a bunk on a base. That would be WORST case. But wouldn’t that be super easy? Again, I want us to take care of our vets, even if I don’t agree with our wars. I’m just throwing out an idea
I agree wholeheartedly, eric, and good idea re the housing. We still have a long way to go with respect to cleaning up the VA Hospital mess, however, which just infuriates me.
Eric,
When you get a second, please see the link below, there are several federally funded housing assistance programs. Campaigns like Operation: WelcomeOneHome are great because they bring awareness to these programs and provide experienced staff to help homeless Vets register for assistance. Also, if you know or in the future come across a veteran who’s at risk please call the VA’s National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET.
http://www.va.gov/homeless/housing.asp
Thanks,
Brian
OIF ’04-05
OIF ’08-09
Is Seattle the original Home to all these homeless Veterans?
Yeah! Who said poor people are allowed to move? Especially to cities with thriving economies! Keep em in Detroit ;-)
King County is very blessed with a lot of resources for Veterans in general, thanks to the Veteran and Human Resources levy. The Seattle VA hospital is also known as one of the best in the country…we also are one of the only states with a state level Veteran Administration.
Therefore, many Veterans relocate to the area for access to these resources. Upon discharge from active duty at one of the many bases in our state, service members also chose to stay in Washington.
But seriously. Does it matter where people are from? If they need a little help, they need a little help. What if Amazon had failed and Jeff Bezos had become homeless after moving to Seattle?