New Fund Announces First Awards to Agencies Helping Homeless Families and Children Statewide

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Washington Families Fund, a public-private partnership to expand the availability of housing-based services for the state’s homeless families, announced its first 10 grant awards to agencies across Washington state. With grants totaling $2.6 million, the fund will award 10-year commitments to agencies and partnerships providing service-enriched housing to homeless families or families in danger of becoming homeless in eight counties.

The Washington Families Fund also celebrates recent new commitments from The Boeing Company, Foundation Northwest, and the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. The fund now totals more than $4 million and is expected to reach $5 million by the end of the year.

“These grants represent an important victory on behalf of homeless families across Washington,” said State Representative Timm Ormsby (D-3rd Legislative District). “Every night in our state thousands of individuals – many of them parents with small children – are without a place to call home. Today organizations throughout Washington that are working diligently to combat homelessness have new resources to help move families back to self-sufficiency.”

Launched in February of this year, the Washington Families Fund is the first in the nation to create a reliable, long-term source of funding for supportive services to homeless children and their families. With $2 million in seed money from the Legislature and $2 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the fund has grown another $1 million with other private match resources from corporations, foundations, and individuals throughout the state.

The Gates Foundation’s Sound Families Initiative, a public-private partnership which will create 1,500 new transitional housing units linked with support services in the Puget Sound region, has produced positive evaluation data demonstrating the effectiveness of supportive housing. The Washington Families Fund will expand on this model statewide.    

 “Our foundation is dedicated to finding creative and effective ways to help at-risk families and children in our state,” said Bill Gates Sr., co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The Washington Families Fund does just that – through a mix of public and private dollars, homeless families will have greater access to the resources they need to break the cycle of homelessness.”

The funding model blends public and private dollars to combat the cycle of homelessness for families in Washington state. By providing comprehensive case management that is linked to affordable housing, families are able to receive the key services that they need to address the barriers that they face to long-term housing stability, according to supporters.

Grants are also funded by Washington State’s Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development (CTED). “Service-supported housing is a proven model for helping homeless families establish stability in their lives," said Juli Wilkerson, CTED director. "This public-private partnership is an innovative way to help people get back on their feet.”
Still the needs for serving homeless families are great. In March, the Washington Families Fund received 50 applications from social service providers, housing developers and public housing authorities representing 18 of Washington’s 39 counties. The total funding request was $11.5 million. With less than $3 million to distribute in this first funding competition, only 10 projects were funded. A second request for proposals is planned for later this year.
 
Washington Families Fund June 2005 Funding Awards

• Community Psychiatric Clinic
  (White Center, King County)
  WFF funds will be used to support residential counselor staff that will provide general program services and supervise a child-care cooperative and parenting education program for 15 single-parent households in newly constructed transitional housing.
  
• Family Services of King County (Seattle, King County)
  WFF funds will be used to support a case manager position that will provide on-and off-site services to 7 homeless families in newly constructed transition-in-place housing.
  
• Housing Authority of Island County (Oak Harbor, Island County)
  WFF funding will increase the ability of the case management service partners to provide more intensive case management and support services attached to 8 existing transitional housing units serving homeless families at Marjie’s House. WFF will fund support staff among three partner agencies.
  
• Housing Authority of Thurston County
  (Tumwater, Thurston County)
  WFF funds will be used to provide case management and support services for homeless families with children who will participate in 10 new units of permanent supportive housing.
  
• International District Housing Alliance
  (Seattle, King County)
  WFF will fund case management services to limited English-speaking immigrant and refugee families in 5 units of newly constructed transitional housing.
  
• The Opportunity Council
  (Bellingham, Whatcom County)
  WFF will provide funding for case management for families in 12 newly constructed transitional housing units, as well as needed supports that will focus on housing stability, family stability, increasing family income, and linking families to community supports.
  
• Share
  (Vancouver, Clark County)
  WFF funds will be used in conjunction with rental assistance and discretionary funds from the Vancouver Housing Authority to provide support services in 10 new transitional units. WFF funds will pay for a half-time case manager and additional related support activities.
  
• Transitions
  (Spokane, Spokane County)
  Four organizations, along with Northeast Washington Housing Solutions, came together as an innovative new collaboration among Spokane-area housing and service providers. WFF will fund family support services in conjunction with 20 Section 8 vouchers in both new and existing units of supportive housing for homeless families.
  
• Women’s Resource Center of North Central Washington
  (Wenatchee, Chelan County)
  WFF dollars will provide on-site social services in 10 new transitional units for homeless families who are moving from homelessness to transitional and/or permanent housing.
  
• YWCA—Seattle-King County and Snohomish County (Edmonds, Snohomish County)
  WFF funds will help sustain intensive support services for 12 single-parent homeless families in the Edmonds Highlands Transitional Housing Project originally funded by the Sound Families Initiative.

Some Facts about the Washington Families Fund
 
The Sound Families Initiative (www.soundfamilies.org), a program proves the effectiveness of this approach. It was designed to create 1,500 new transitional housing units linked with support services in the Puget Sound area, has yielded strong initial results:
89 percent of families moved from transitional housing to permanent housing (fair market, public or subsidized housing);

• 49 percent of families increased their incomes
  
  • 16 percent fewer families relied on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
    
  • The Washington Families Fund expands on this innovative model statewide.
    
• AIDS Housing of Washington, located in Seattle, was selected by CTED and the Gates Foundation to administer the Washington Families Fund.
  The fund will provide 10 years of financing for both on- and off-site support services tied to affordable housing.
  
• Case management services include assessment, goal planning, job training, budgeting, parenting skills and counseling to recover or prevent substance abuse, child development and domestic violence.
  
• The Washington Families Fund released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to service providers seeking grants in January

More information about the Washington Families Fund can be found at www.aidshousing.org.
 
For interviews or more information: Betsy Lieberman for AIDS Housing of Washington, 206.322.9444