Kittitas County Habitat for Humanity has formed a partnership with Habitat  Seattle/King County, which will expand help to services & production of affordable homes for families in Kittitas County. In addition to that partnership, Kittitas County Habitat has brought on board a new area director, Kelle Davorak Vanderberg, who will coordinate volunteer recruitment, plan events, serve as liaison to city & county governments, faith groups, & conduct fund development.

Habitat for Humanity is planning on building seven permanently affordable townhouse units in North Bend. The project took a step forward on July 21, with the North Bend City Council signing a development agreement with the Seattle-King County chapter of Habitat for Humanity.  It includes two units that will be for families making less than half of the area median income, with the rest marketed toward those making 80 percent.

Habitat for Humanity Seattle–King County (SKC) and Kittitas County Habitat for Humanity (KCHFH) have formed a strategic partnership that will expand services and production of affordable homes for qualifying families throughout Kittitas County, according to a news release from Habitat for Humanity. The partnership will result in cost savings for Kittitas County Habitat for Humanity by consolidating its operations with Habitat SKC’s corporate headquarters in Renton.

The Seattle City Council voted to impose a new payroll tax on big businesses. The measure passed 7-2. This tax targets big earners and the companies that employ them. Companies with more than $7 million in annual payroll will be charged a percentage based on how many people they employ with salaries of at least $150,000. Companies that have billion-dollar payrolls will pay an even bigger share for high wage workers.

More help is on the way for King County residents struggling to pay rent due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On Friday morning, United Way of King County, the City of Seattle, and King County announced a partnership to expand the United Way’s Home Base program to help provide rental assistance. An initial investment of $5 million in public & private funds will go to residents who lost income due to the pandemic.

On March 15 UUC was joined by a wonderful guest speaker, one of the prospective owners of homes now being built in Lake City by Habitat for Humanity. Together, families and volunteers will build the houses over the next 2 years. This is the “sweat equity” model of homeownership.

Lisa and Andy wanted to do something to celebrate their marriage so the couple asked for donations for a Habitat Global Village volunteer trip to Thailand where they helped build their home. “It was the perfect decision,” says Andy. “It feels great to have a tangible reward for your work.”

Last week, the Habitat WA team took a trip to the other WA (DC that is) to talk about the Cost of Home campaign with our elected leaders. As a part of Habitat on the Hill 2020: We’ve Only Just Begun, Habitat leaders from across the country gathered to learn about what others are doing to implement Cost of Home.

A measure that would allow King County to tax large businesses to build affordable housing has been introduced. HB 2907 imposes a payroll expense levy on companies & would let the county increase that rate for high paid workers.

When Joyce, a technician at a Hospital & single mother of two boys, wanted to leave her apartment because she was worried about crime in the area, she didn’t think buying a home would be an option.