Moderator @mshannabrooks kicking off our #HousingVoterForum @seattleu tonight, where we’ll talk about the role of #housing & #homelessness in our City Council election. Follow along on @tech4housing YouTube channel. 
.@mshannabrooks says she’s attended 30+ candidate endorsement meetings thus election season, & she observes a lot of candidates know the language to use to talk about #homelessness, but not necessarily what it means.
For example, says @mshannabrooks, everyone talks about #HousingFirst; but when you ask their policy, some have said they want FEMA-style tents. [For the record, tents aren’t housing.]
Moderator asks, who’s doing it right when it comes to solving #homelessness in Seattle?Several name Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), whose co-founder @lisadaugaard recently won a Genius Grant.
.@LaurenMcgowan says our region has the most innovative, creative people working to solve #homelessness; we need to be louder, come together around the issue & #showup. “It’s gonna take a movement.”
.@RichWatersMD says to be skeptical if a candidate suggests a simple fix will solve everything. He cites #permanentsupportivehousing as a successful evidence-based practice that we need to scale up. [It was pioneered in Seattle!]
.@ccechohawk is excited about new housing opening soon for @ChiefSEAClub. She says #HousingFirst is a proven successful model, but we need more $ to bring to scale. Also, we need to recognize some innovations will fail.
Disproportionality of #homelessness mentioned by several speakers. Jesse Rawlins of LEAD says data recently revealed our Coordinated Entry system fails on equity, and favors white people.
Moderator asks why’s there a perception that there’s enough money in our system but we just need more accountability. @ccechohawk says nonprofits are under a microscope every day to accomplish what they do.
.@laurenmcgowan says of course nonprofits need to be accountable “but it’s time for business, philanthropy and government to be accountable too” in solving #homelessness together.
Jesse Rawlins says everyone loves to talk “data data data” & the data he throws back shows #housing is the golden key - it lessens substance use, helps w/mental health, ends #homelessness. [applause]
Q re new regional authority. Jesse says he’s wary; @LaurenMcgowan says it should help us fix problems we’ve known about for long time, including racist Coordinated Entry system.
.@ccechohawk is enthused about new regional authority because she says we’ll have people of color with lived experience of #homelessness at table for 1st time & we’ll be able to make decisions quickly.
Communities of color, including immigrants, have creative ways of thinking about housing that we can benefit from, says @ccechohawk; we need culturally specific programs.
Other solutions include eviction reform, such as laws that just passed in legislature, & diversion programs that solve #homelessness with just a little money per household, says @LaurenMcgowan.
What can we do about affordable housing component of #homelessness, asks @mshannabrooks. @RichWatersMD cites majority of Seattle zoned for single family, despite 100K+ who’ve moved here in recent years. Says zoning changes could help.
For folks not experiencing chronic #homelessness, other people who are #homeless need better jobs, higher income, says @LaurenMcgowan. Jesse Rawlins says “Housing is the answer.”
Yes, we need housing; but we need to recognize housing has discriminated against people of color, counters @ccechohawk. We need more housing like El Centro & we needs orgs of color who *haven’t* done housing before to do it.
People are using drugs & living outside, but forced treatment does not work, says Jesse. We need a harm-reduction model. @RichWatersMD adds that a one-month program doesn’t work esp for someone dealing w/trauma. And can’t arrest & treat, it’s not going to work.
Best is to shift our thinking to help people using drugs see hope, so they are empowered to heal, says @RichWatersMD. He cites promising research on treatment. Jesse says LEAD is piloting treatment of meth w/Ritalin & asking City to Fund, “so watch for that.”
Q on how to get people involved. @LaurenMcgowan recommends having bold conversations, & looking at sites like uwkc.org for ways to get involved.
“We need to be telling stories of success” & we haven’t done a good job on that, says @ccechohawk. She says @Microsoft is helping @ChiefSEAClub with that. Also, “talk to your community.”
Jesse says to think about framing the issue in conversations, & confirming that people *should* be angry that thousands are living outside.
If you work in tech, ask about the income disparity across your organization as a way to get the conversation going, recommends @RichWatersMD. It can be eye opening.
Coming up - Oct 26 @UnitedWayKC event for families experiencing #homelessness, at @SeattleCentral. Oct 25 - grand opening of @ChiefSEAClub Eagle Village Housing, designed to reduce #homelessness for Native population.
