Family Homelessness Initiative

Thank you for taking an interest in the Initiative to Prevent and End Family Homelessness in King County. This website is intended to provide community stakeholders with information about the initiative and offer an opportunity to provide feedback.

News and Events

Monthly Informational Sessions with Family Homelessness Initiative Staff
We will not be having a meeting in December.
The next meeting will be on February 20th from 9:30 -11
Every 3rd Wednesday of the month - 9:30am - 11:00am
Location: 2100 Building (2100 24th Ave S. Seattle, WA 98144)

Come talk with Debbi Knowles and Triina Tennelo to find out more about the work of the Family Homelessness Initiative. The meeting will be an opportunity to talk about the efforts of the Initiative, hear about next steps, and ask questions. It is open to anyone who would like to come. More details to follow shortly.

Peer Learning Group for Family Programs

Management and Leadership of Family Homeless/Housing Programs will also be meeting monthly to respond to the efforts of the Initiative. The meeting is intended to serve as a forum for networking, peer support, and brainstorming among this group of providers.

If you would like to provide feedback about one of the sessions you have attended, please use this link to complete a 5-10 minute survey. 

Please call or email Triina Tennelo if you have any questions about either of these meetings at 206-263-9110 or triina.tennelo@kingcounty.gov.

Background

In December 2008, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and United Way of King County awarded a grant to King County to undertake a local planning process to develop a plan that will reduce family homelessness. King County is one of three communities (Pierce and Snohomish are the other two counties) participating in this expanded work of the Washington Families Fund managed by Building Changes.

The planning process King County undertook encompassed three distinct phases of work:

1. A landscape assessment report that contains a detailed analysis of the county's existing resources and systems for addressing the needs of homeless families.
2. A strategic plan that proposes specific strategies for improving county systems, with particular emphasis on the five promising approaches identified in the landscape assessment.
3. An implementation plan that describes specific time lines, resources, responsibilities, and desired outcomes for implementing the strategies identified in phase two.

Moving Forward with implementation 

Initial planning efforts are completed. King County is implementing strategies focused on creating change in the five key areas that will have the most significant impact on overall system change.

1. COORDINATED ENTRY AND ASSESSMENT - Give families a convenient and standard way to find the services and housing they need as quickly as possible. 
    
2. PREVENT HOMELESSNESS FOR FAMILIES MOST AT RISK - Keep families who are on the edge of homelessness housed and quickly connect them to the services they need.
    
3. MOVE FAMILIES QUICKLY TO STABLE HOUSING - Help families regain stability by moving them into non time-limited housing as quickly as possible. 
    
4. FOCUS SUPPORT SERVICES ON HOUSING STABILITY - Provide individual families with the right services at the right time and connect families to services they need and want to maintain housing stability and self-sufficiency.  
    
5. INCREASE COLLABORATIONS WITH MAINSTREAM SYSTEMS - Assist families in accessing the services, housing and income supports they need to maintain housing stability.

Technical Assistance and Support 

 We are available for technical assistance and support throughout this systems change process. We are more than happy to answer any questions you may have, meet with you one-on-one, or come out to your agency to talk with your Board and staff about the initiative. Please do not hesitate to contact us. Our contact information is listed below.

Contact us

PROJECT LEAD: Debbi Knowles , 206-263-9088 or at debbi.knowles@kingcounty.gov
SYSTEMS CHANGE: Triina Tennelo, 206-263-9110, triina.tennelo@kingcounty.gov

Please let us know what you think about specific information found on this page or your thoughts on the implementation process as it unfolds.  Contact Debbi Knowles, 206-263-9088 or at debbi.knowles@kingcounty.gov