Tag Archives: King County Housing Authority

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At 99%, KCHA Reports Highest Lease-Up Rate of Biden’s 2021 Emergency Housing Vouchers

by Lauryn Bray

Last year, President Joe Biden passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which included the release of 70,000 housing vouchers to U.S. cities experiencing high rates of homelessness. Through the Act, King County Housing Authority (KCHA) was granted 762 emergency housing vouchers and nearly $18.4 million in funding by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2021. As of Nov. 14, KCHA has reported that 756 of the 762 emergency housing vouchers, or 99%, have been leased. 

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Old U.S. Bank Building in Skyway Set to Become HUD EnVision Center

by Elizabeth Turnbull

A new HUD EnVision Center is set to open in the old U.S. Bank building in Skyway in 2023 — providing connections to economic, health, and other resources — after U.S. Bank donated the land and the building to the King County Housing Authority (KCHA).

The space, which will be known as the Skyway Resource Center and is located at 12610 76th Ave. S., will replace and expand on the existing mobile resource center the Renton Innovation Zone Partnership (RIZP) launched roughly a year ago to provide resources during the pandemic. 

“For too long, Skyway has not received sufficient public and private investment, and that has slowed the development of economic opportunities and the provision of needed community services,” Stephen Norman, KCHA’s executive director, wrote in a statement released by U.S. Bank. “We are excited to work with the Skyway community and King County to reverse this trend and assist in the development of a new community asset that will provide additional tools and resources to help residents to move ahead.”

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New Program Aims To Help Veterans Experiencing Houselessness Find Homes

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by Elizabeth Turnbull

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the King County Housing Authority (KCHA) launched a program in June that works to connect veterans who are experiencing houselesness with new housing opportunities and additional resources.

Organizers are calling the pilot program a first of its kind in the U.S. as it administers federal housing vouchers for veterans, which provide rental assistance, while also providing participants with supportive services from the King County Veterans Program (KCVP). Caseworkers at KCVP’s Tukwila and Northgate locations are working on the program, which aims to help more than 140 local veterans. 

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Rising Rents, Long Waiting Lists Displacing Seniors From the South End

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by Carolyn Bick

As a senior on disability, Laura Hale lives on exactly $971 per month, not counting the $182 per month she receives in food stamps.

The 65-year-old Hale lives in the basement of her son’s house, a few blocks away from the Southeast Seattle Senior Center, where she regularly plays bingo on Wednesdays. Like many seniors who live on fixed income, such as disability payments or Social Security, Hale cannot independently afford to live in the area anymore, thanks to increasing costs of living, as developers move in. And like many seniors, Hale is on several city housing waiting lists that are literally thousands of names and several years long.

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