Statements & Endorsements

YouthCare Stands Against Domestic Terrorism & White Supremacy

This Wednesday we witnessed an attempted coup on the U.S. Capitol and a violent attack on our democracy. YouthCare vehemently condemns Wednesday’s attack and shares the anger, sadness, and pain felt across our communities and the nation. This pain runs particularly deep among our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, including many of YouthCare’s… Read More of “YouthCare Stands Against Domestic Terrorism & White Supremacy”

YouthCare Endorses Health Through Housing Proposal

YouthCare endorses the King County Health Through Housing proposal and we urge you to support it too. The Health Through Housing proposal will implement a 0.1% sales tax across King County for affordable housing and behavioral health treatment. Current forecasts estimate the tax will generate approximately $65-70 million a year, with the goal of housing… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses Health Through Housing Proposal”

YouthCare Responds to 2020 Count Us In Results

All Home King County released its January 2020 Point-in-Time count results last week and there is cause for both hope and concern. While the count’s methodology has multiple limitations—such as exempting people who are couch-surfing and relying on volunteers to literally count people sleeping outside on one given night—the count offers us a consistent snapshot… Read More of “YouthCare Responds to 2020 Count Us In Results”

YouthCare Endorses JumpStart Seattle Payroll Tax

Five years ago, King County and the City of Seattle declared a state of emergency on homelessness. Nevertheless, despite modest declines in subpopulations like families and youth, homelessness rates continued to rise almost every year. As thousands of new workers arrived daily, the region’s affordable housing stock shrank. Rents skyrocketed, historic Black and Brown neighborhoods… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses JumpStart Seattle Payroll Tax”

Mayor Durkan: Defund. Reform. Redistribute. Reinvest.

As peaceful protestors across this city have demanded justice against racism and brutality, they’ve faced police clad in military-grade riot gear. Sound grenades. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. Our streets look like a warzone. Last Friday, Mayor Durkan and Chief Best issued a 30-day suspension of the use of tear gas, which was banned from warfare… Read More of “Mayor Durkan: Defund. Reform. Redistribute. Reinvest.”

YouthCare Stands in Solidarity: Say Their Names. Protest. Educate. Give. Vote.

There is an undeniable link between youth homelessness and institutionalized racism. We are a country that has disenfranchised communities of color, limiting their economic viability and access to opportunity through a system of laws and policies. Systems of oppression that steal childhoods from youth of color who are pushed out of schools and into the… Read More of “YouthCare Stands in Solidarity: Say Their Names. Protest. Educate. Give. Vote.”

YouthCare Endorses Shut Down NWDC Campaign

YouthCare has signed on in support of a campaign to shut down the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC) in Tacoma, Washington. We urge you to support this campaign and sign the petition here. What is the NWDC? The Northwest Detention Center is the country’s fourth-largest detention center for people awaiting immigration and/or asylum proceedings. NWDC is… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses Shut Down NWDC Campaign”

Approve Referendum 88

What is Referendum 88? Referendum 88 will decide the fate of Initiative 1000 (see below), a ballot initiative approved by the legislature last year. An “approve” vote on Referendum 88 will enable I-1000 to move forward; a “reject” vote will block it from becoming law. What is Initiative 1000? Initiative 1000 would reverse a statewide… Read More of “Approve Referendum 88”

YouthCare Opposes Initiative 976

What would I-976 do? I-976 would significantly restrict our state’s capacity to generate revenue for transportation. Among other reforms, the initiative would limit car tab fees to $30 per year and repeal cities’ authority to levy additional fees through Transportation Benefit Districts (TBDs)—the primary means by which 62 cities across the state fund local transportation… Read More of “YouthCare Opposes Initiative 976”