Lack of Funding for Move-In Costs in King County

Lack of Funding for Move-In Costs in King County

Good morning,

Reclaiming Our Greatness is a non-profit based in Renton. We serve the BIPOC communities of King County. We are currently partnered with King County Best Starts for Kids as part of their Youth and Families Homelessness Prevention Initiative as well as the Department of Commerce's Washington State Homelessness Diversion Program. These are two of the programs in the current suite of services we are able to provide our clients.

We are writing specifically about a gap in services that exists for individuals and families, especially those currently experiencing homelessness. While the BSK-YFHPI program offers housing stability/rental assistance to people on the brink of homelessness, it does little to address the need for help with move-in costs for those individuals. Nor does it serve the homeless community. The DOC program does provide assistance with move-in costs, but funding is currently limited. In order for our organization to stretch our allocation through the end of the year, we are only able to distribute $6,000/mo to help individuals. Hopefully, in the next calendar year that amount will increase

The current crisis we face is the overwhelming community need for help with move-in costs. The people reaching out are low-income and/or homeless. They reach out when they've been approved for housing but lack the funds to pay deposits and first/last month's rent in order to move in. The resources for these individuals and families are very limited. When we are not able to assist, we do make referrals to other organizations but there are few that offer move-in cost assistance. We can't imagine the frustration, fear and sense of hopelessness these people experience; to be on the brink of securing a home but not having the means to meet the substantial initial costs to move in.

To date, we have experienced nearly 100 requests for assistance in the month of July alone. Twenty-five people have already reached out this morning. This is an issue that is going to continue to impact these people. Move-in costs are substantial given current rental rates. Some of the cost burden might be relieved by the lower rent and deposit rates of low-income housing, but there still exists a substantial one-time financial commitment. Even individuals with vouchers are impacted. Vouchers do not cover move-in costs.

We implore your office to explore establishing additional funding opportunities for King County partners to provide move-in cost assistance. The fight to reduce homelessness must include the ability of the low-income and homeless communities to meet these costs.

Respectfully,

Marshaun Barber

Executive Director

Kim Soares

Administrative Systems Manager

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