KOMO’s recent one-hour special, “Seattle is Dying,” has sparked heated conversations about homelessness in our city. In the piece, reporter Eric Johnson claims Seattle is experiencing a homelessness crisis. We agree, and we’re glad our community is outraged. We are too. He shines a spotlight on substance use and argues we must do more to… Read More of “Homelessness is a Crisis: Jail is Not the Answer”
Washington State has a lot to be proud of: our culture of innovation, our commitment to environmental sustainability, our breathtaking views. But we also have lots of room for improvement. We have the most upside-down tax code in the country, and we’re ranked 34th in the nation for access to mental health care. Our overreliance on… Read More of “YouthCare Supports New Progressive Revenue”
Yesterday morning the Seattle Times published an article regarding the City of Seattle’s performance standards for our homeless response system and emergency shelter services. The article referenced YouthCare’s CEO, Melinda Giovengo, who participated in an interview in an effort to provide accountability and transparency—as she, and YouthCare—have always done. Unfortunately, the complexity of the issue,… Read More of “YouthCare Responds to the Seattle Times”
As people who are committed every day to ending youth homelessness, it has been excruciating to watch families at our nation’s borders being ripped apart. The trauma of fleeing unspeakable violence in one’s home country is now being compounded through inhumane and racist policies inflicted by our government. YouthCare categorically condemns the atrocities at the… Read More of “YouthCare Statement Regarding Family Separation at the Border”
Last week, King County released their 2018 Point-in-Time Count, including the number of homeless youth and young adults. Here’s the good news: the rates of youth and young adult homelessness remained relatively steady—1,498 in 2017 to 1,518 in 2018—an increase of just 20 young people. Moreover, the number of homeless minors went down by 22%, due… Read More of “YouthCare Responds to 2018 Count Us In Results”
YouthCare commends the Seattle City Council and Mayor for their commitment to ending homelessness and their investment in affordable housing. Seattle is in the midst of an economic boom, as new workers flock to our city and new buildings pepper our skyline. At the same time, we are experiencing rising rates of inequality and soaring… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses the Seattle Employee Hours Tax”
YouthCare’s Board has unanimously voted to endorse the Seattle Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy. We know that young people with less than a high school diploma or GED have a 346% higher risk of experiencing homelessness and that young people of color are at disproportionately higher risk of dropping out or being pushed… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses Seattle Family, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy”
YouthCare believes that all young people deserve a safe and stable place to call home—and that no young person should ever have to sleep outside. We recognize that unsanctioned encampments are not suitable for habitation. Yet we also recognize that the City’s policy of sweeping encampments in the absence of adequate shelter beds or affordable… Read More of “YouthCare Statement on Sweeps”
YouthCare’s leadership unanimously voted to support the De-Escalate Washington ballot initiative—and we urge you to support Initiative 940 too. I-940 is a grassroots effort led by people of color and families who have been impacted by police violence. The initiative would require law enforcement to receive violence de-escalation and mental health training, and it would change… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses De-Escalate Washington”
Over 40 years ago, Congress passed the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act—the first and only federal law targeted at serving unaccompanied youth. For nearly as long, homeless youth providers and organizations like the National Network for Youth have advocated that Congress fund well-researched and accurate data on the prevalence of youth homelessness. For decades, those… Read More of “4.2 million Homeless Young People is Unacceptable: We Must Do More”
