Everyone deserves the security and stability of a decent home that they can afford. Join Habitat for Humanity this April, as we help families in need of a decent place to live through our 2022 Home is the Key campaign.
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Wrapping Up the 2022 Legislative Session: Wins and Next Steps
The 2022 legislative session has concluded and it’s time to take a moment to look at what we’ve accomplished. While this year’s session was short in length, it was long in activity. We helped to push more than 12 bills across the finish line and secured historic investments in affordable housing and homeownership.
Our volunteers sent more than 8,000 messages to lawmakers throughout the 60-day session – which is incredible! None of this would have happened without your support, so thank you for all you did this year to help advance affordable housing.
Some of the highlights from this session include:
- Secured over $400 million in new affordable housing funding – bringing the full biennial budget to $700 million, including $25 million for affordable homeownership for the very first time.
- Passed HB 1643 creating a REET exemption for the sale of property to nonprofits building affordable housing.
- Passed HB 1738 raising the bond cap for the Washington State Housing Finance Commission – allowing them to continue their great work funding affordable housing projects across the state.
- Passed HB 1769 ending Community Municipal Corporations – eliminating a barrier to the construction of affordable housing in some east side cities.
- Passed SB 5755 creating a sales and use tax break for affordable housing construction in some mid-sized cities.
Yet, there is still much more to do and we look forward to working with you to continue to build momentum for important agenda items, such as:
- Passing a bill to end exclusionary zoning across Washington State.
- Reforming the Washington State Housing Trust Fund to deliver funds more efficiently and effectively for affordable housing of all types.
- Expanding the work from SB 5755 to more cities across Washington – lowering the cost of affordable housing that we can pass along to the families we serve.
- Reforming the rural Home Repair Loan Program to help families across rural Washington to stay in their homes.
Again, we couldn’t have done it without you or our champions in Olympia. Please join us by taking a moment to send a Thank You note to our friends in the state legislature via this link.
Thank you for making the victories from the 2022 session a reality and your commitment to standing with us at Habitat for Humanity SKC in our mission to build a world where everyone has an affordable place to call home.
If you have any questions on the upcoming legislative session or how to get involved in our advocacy work, please contact our Advocacy and Policy Director Ryan Donohue at ryan.donohue@habitatskc.org. To receive Advocacy text alerts sign up here.
Habitat Announces Beyond the Build 2022 Luncheon Keynote Speaker: Journalist and Award-Winning Author of Nomadland, Jessica Bruder
We are thrilled to announce award-winning author of Nomadland, Jessica Bruder, as our keynote speaker at the Beyond the Build 2022 luncheon. Our biggest fundraiser of the year takes place on Thursday, June 2 at the Washington State Convention Center. Register here.
For her New York Times-bestselling book Nomadland, Bruder spent months living in a camper van, documenting itinerant Americans who gave up traditional housing and hit the road full time, enabling them to travel from job to job and carve out a place in a precarious economy. The project spanned three years and more than 15,000 miles of driving – from coast to coast and from Mexico to the Canadian border.
Nomadland won the Ryszard Kapuściński Award for Literary Reportage and the Discover Award. It was a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award. The New York Times named it both Notable Book and Editors’ Choice and it has been translated into 24 languages.
In 2020, Nomadland was made into a feature film produced by and starring Frances McDormand and for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2021. Director Chloe Zhao was honored by the Academy as Best Director.
We are looking forward to having Jessica as our keynote speaker and can’t wait for you to join us for a very important conversation. Individual, Full and Half-Table Sponsorships available. For more information on sponsorship, please contact Chief Development Officer Amy Farrier at amy.farrier@habitatskc.org.
Updates from Stuart Meadows in Ellensburg: Homeowner Applications Open, Vertical Construction to Start in July
Exciting news from Kittitas County! Last month, the Ellensburg City Council voted in favor of Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King and Kittitas Counties’ final plat approval, opening the door for what will become a new Habitat community called Stuart Meadows, slated to open in mid-2023.
Located in Ellensburg, these single-story, permanently affordable homes will provide 18 hardworking families a three-bedroom, two-bath, 1150-square-foot home with off-street parking and offering easy access to a variety of shops, restaurants, and outdoor recreation.
Habitat recently took ownership of the donated three acres of land from The City of Ellensburg and we are currently finalizing our infrastructure teams for preliminary site work. Mark your calendar for July 14, 2022 when we gather onsite for the Stuart Meadows groundbreaking to celebrate the start of vertical construction!
Homeowner applications are currently open to those residing/employed in Kittitas County for at least one year. These homes will be sold to households whose income falls under either 80% or 60% AMI for Kittitas County, estimating the monthly housing payment range at $1,300-$1,700 for those under 80% AMI, and $750-$1,300 for those earning under the area’s 60% AMI.
Applicants must also be willing to partner and complete sweat equity, amounting to 20 sweat equity hours each week during the construction of the home, 10 of which can be donated. Family selection will be completed by June. Learn more about this exciting, forthcoming community here.
Celebrating AmeriCorps Week with a Special Homeowner Critical Repairs Spotlight
Debbie is a retired senior who lives in a lovely Tudor home in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood. Since her 1977 move from Michigan to Seattle, she has opened her home to multiple generations of family members, leaving little time for home improvements. With her son and two grandsons currently living in the home, along with a mixed German shepherd, Oliver, the original hardwood floors were traffic-worn, notably in the living area and kitchen.
The Habitat repair crew, including AmeriCorps members Jess Schell, Cari Firriolo, and Matt Musetich, installed new vinyl flooring from the Tukwila Habitat retail store. Additionally, the repair team built new stairs to create better front door access – complete with new wooden steps and handrails, tying into an existing ADA ramp. They installed landscaping pavers to adjoin the sidewalk, as well as a new gutter and downspout along with some general brush clearing and cleanup.
Debbie expressed gratitude for her new flooring and the other projects Habitat had impacted. Habitat SKC Repair Site Manager Mike Inocencio described Debbie as an active and engaged homeowner. Over the course of the 10-day repair, Debbie served homemade lunches to the AmeriCorps “kids,” as she called them. Once repairs were complete, the AmeriCorps team was so touched by Debbie’s hospitality, they gave her a card, which she treasures greatly.
Recognizing AmeriCorps Week: March 13-19: This special week recognizes the commitment of the more than 1.2 million Americans who have chosen to serve their country through AmeriCorps–and millions more–who have served in AmeriCorps Seniors and their community partners, and to encourage more Americans to follow their footsteps in service.
Habitat for Humanity International was one of the first nonprofits to partner with AmeriCorps when it formed in 1994. Since then, more than 7,000 Habitat AmeriCorps members have performed over 12 million hours of service, serving more than 15,000 U.S. families. Here at Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties, AmeriCorps and Habitat have teamed up since 1998 to help meet the housing needs of communities and families, with 268 AmeriCorps members.
AmeriCorps engages 250,000 Americans each year in sustained, results-driven service through our AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs. These dedicated citizens help communities manage COVID-19 response, ensure students stay on track to graduate, combat hunger and homelessness, respond to natural disasters, fight the opioid epidemic, help seniors live independently, support veterans and military families, and much more.
We honor all of the selfless, hardworking AmeriCorps members doing so much for our communities and homeowners like Debbie. Meet our current Habitat SKC AmeriCorps team here https://www.habitatskc.org/who-we-are/americorps/.