We Are In is a community coalition of King County unhoused and housed neighbors, local advocacy organizations and philanthropies, service providers, and businesses who are uniting to end homelessness and create more affordable homes in King County. This is the first in a series of posts that will introduce you to some of our partners and members. First up: Symetra Financial. 

Symetra, a key partner of We Are In, is an insurance company headquartered in Bellevue with a strong commitment to social impact. Read our Q&A with Beth Osborne, Symetra’s Director of Local Public Affairs, below. 

Q&A with Symetra Financial

In February 2022, Symetra and other private partners announced their commitment to support Partnership for Zero, a public-private collaboration to dramatically reduce unsheltered homelessness in targeted areas of King County, starting with Downtown Seattle and the Chinatown/International District. Partnership for Zero is showing us what is possible when private capital aligns with a new model of government strategy, allowing us to catalyze much-needed infrastructure and systems change.

What led Symetra to join Partnership for Zero? What felt different about this initiative? 

Addressing housing affordability and homelessness is a core focus of Symetra Empowers Communities, a program that specifically works to reduce barriers and improve outcomes for underserved women, youth and BIPOC communities. That is what led us to join We Are In, a community coalition of local advocacy organizations, service providers, businesses and philanthropies working to end homelessness and build more affordable homes in King County. Partnership for Zero stands out because it prioritizes the needs of people with lived experience and unites a broad group of stakeholders – from community, government, philanthropy, advocates and businesses – on a common goal to house individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in downtown Seattle.

Can you speak more about the role that you believe Symetra and other private sector actors play in our region’s efforts to create more affordable housing? Why is private sector involvement key?

As a company committed to our people and our communities, Symetra believes that we can influence and drive meaningful, positive social change. We combine our support through nonprofit giving, advocacy, employee engagement, and partnerships. On a broad and challenging issue like affordable housing, we believe our efforts are most impactful when we work together with aligned community members, nonprofit partners and businesses. 

What would you say to peer companies who are looking to make a difference in this area? Why should they act and what should they do? 

All companies – small, medium and big – have a role to play, especially when it comes to working together. This issue is essential to the health and vitality of our region, not just from a community perspective, but also from a business perspective.  Businesses thrive in healthy communities that feel welcoming and safe to employees, visitors and all community members. The quality of life in Washington state helps attract and retain the best talent in our small businesses and companies. Through funding, advocacy or both, companies can make a difference by joining coalitions or supporting nonprofits that align with their values.

Why is Symetra committed to ending homelessness and the affordable housing crisis in our region?

Our vision is to create a world where more people have access to financial freedom. Historically, it has been systems that have created barriers that ultimately lead to homelessness. We believe a concerted effort to increase affordable housing and end our homelessness crisis will drive the long-term change needed to improve outcomes for women, youth, and students from underserved BIPOC communities.

Collaboration is the key to solving the issues of homelessness and housing affordability, which affect all of our communities and require a regional effort on resources and solutions. To hear from each community across King County –– and to share the incredible progress that’s happening across our region –– We Are In partnered with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) to host a series of town halls that feature partners including elected officials, advocates, service providers, and members of the Lived Experience Coalition (LEC). So far, we’ve met with community members in East and South King County. 

A special thanks to our panelists from our first two town halls: King County Council Chair Claudia Balducci; Kirkland City Councilmember Amy Falcone; David Bowling, Executive Director of Congregations for the Homeless; Bellevue City Councilmember Jeremy Barksdale; Mayor of Redmond Angela Birney; Mayor of Auburn Nancy Backus; Renton City Councilmember Ed Prince; Marvin Futrell, LEC member; and Robin Corak, CEO of Multi-Service Center.

We’ll host events for North King County and Snoqualmie Valley later this Fall. In the meantime, here’s an overview of some of the important work that’s happening right now.

Getting More Accurate Data

Data-driven decision making is a core value for many people in our region, and we understand that solutions must be informed by the best available information. Decisions about resources and investments in workforce, housing, shelter and services must be informed by an accurate picture of who is experiencing homelessness and why. Unfortunately, traditional methods of identifying homeless populations consistently undercount people. Nationally, we’ve relied on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Point-In-Time Count, an annual survey of individuals experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. But homelessness is a dynamic problem; and we can’t solely rely on a count conducted only once a year. 

That’s why the KCRHA is using a different approach, including multiple data sources, for identifying and counting the county’s homeless population — which not only produces a more accurate number, but also a better understanding of people’s lived experiences, their challenges, small victories, system barriers, and other milestones on the path to housing stability. 

The Washington Post recently praised KCRHA’s innovative strategy, which included setting up 10 hubs at locations across the region, from libraries to food banks to health clinics where  volunteers could walk people through a series of questions about their experiences with homelessness: Where are you sleeping? During this time, what things or people have been helpful to you? During this time, what things or people have not been helpful — or may have been harmful — to you? The KCRHA will release a detailed analysis of their new survey data this Fall. 

Solving homelessness is consistently the most important issue for people in King County. This sense of urgency and concern can drive much-needed change –– and the path forward is clear: more affordable, permanent housing and genuine care for people experiencing homelessness. The people most impacted by homelessness are our most critical partners in this work, yet they are often shamed and scapegoated for the very existence of homelessness in our communities. The fight to end homelessness can’t be just about home values, or election victories, or cleaning up our streets –– it has to be about supporting the most vulnerable among us and ensuring a better future for us all by rooting out the structural conditions that allow people to become homeless in King County.

As an op-ed in the Washington Post aptly put it: “smart policy on homelessness requires empathy.”

Often, we talk about homelessness –– and the urgent need to act –– not because our neighbors’ lives and dignity depend on it, but because voters are fed up. Many find it easier to blame individuals experiencing homelessness, acting as though it is a choice, rather than being honest about the fact that the causes are structural (e.g. structural racism, housing market conditions). And media coverage of the issue often focuses more on political infighting among those with the power to make a difference, instead of staying focused on the people and issues for which they’re fighting.

None of that will truly move the needle on this issue. What we need is radical empathy and love for our neighbors –– that is what will fuel the bold change we need to see.

As I was reading that op-ed, I was reflecting on the meaning and purpose of our organization, We Are In. “We” are a community coalition of King County’s unhoused and housed neighbors, advocates, philanthropies, service providers, and businesses, all united in the fight to create more affordable homes and end homelessness in our region. We believe in our shared responsibility and opportunity to support our neighbors and build a stronger, safer community for everyone. 

We Are In’s work consists of advocacy, education, and sourcing capital for effective solutions –– we’re also cultivating the empathy and compassion that will continue to drive this movement forward by:  

• Uplifting the voices, stories, and leadership of folks with the lived experience of homelessness. Empathy is about learning and understanding the experiences of others. We need to listen to those most impacted and challenge ourselves to think about homelessness from their perspective, not ours. 
• Changing the narrative around homelessness and housing so that we’re centering the people most impacted, amplifying progress, and remaining focused on the why: getting everyone in our community into safe, stable, and dignified housing. 
• Encouraging folks to get involved in the community and connecting them to opportunities to support our neighbors. We Are In is about taking action, together. We all have a role to play in ending homelessness in our region, and it starts with simple acts of kindness and service. We always share ways to get involved in our newsletter (sign up here) –– if you’re looking to give, check out this article detailing what homeless service providers could use in King County or you can volunteer your time. 

Importantly, our collective sense of urgency and care is already driving real progress. Over the past two years, our region centralized the funds and strategy for addressing homelessness through an innovative, independent agency: The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA). 

The KCRHA, with support from We Are In’s coalition of business and philanthropic partners, launched Partnership for Zero (PFZ), a public-private collaboration to dramatically reduce unsheltered homelessness in targeted areas of King County, starting with Downtown Seattle and the Chinatown/International District. As part of PFZ’s approach, formerly homeless outreach workers, known as System Advocates, are currently helping to secure long-term, stable housing for every person living outside in these areas. 

And in June, King County’s Health Through Housing Initiative opened its fifth site in Northgate. With this new site, the initiative has now created nearly 500 available units, bringing us one step closer to getting all of our region’s unhoused residents inside and connected to the services they need to thrive. 

We will continue to build on this progress, not only by increasing our stock of available, affordable housing, but also by inspiring others to act with empathy –– we can all be part of the solution.

On June 21st, We Are In’s Executive Director, Felicia Salcedo, spoke with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell at a public event about our city’s progress, goals, and next steps on housing and homelessness.

Mayor Harrell spoke about the release of his One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan and data dashboard, which tracks where people experiencing homelessness are living, whether they’re living in a tent or an RV, where the city is offering people shelter, and the city’s budget for doing so.

Mayor Harrell said of the dashboard, “people have a tendency to look in their own neighborhood, or just [whatever] their common path is to work, or wherever they’re going. They may not see all 84 square miles [of Seattle] and I think it’s important for people to realize the gravity of the issue… and see how we’re meeting our housing goals. By measuring it, we hope we can create new energy and new synergy around our efforts.”

Mayor Harrell, too, shared enthusiasm for the progress Partnership for Zero is making in Downtown Seattle and the Chinatown/ International District. He spoke to the trust he has in the KCRHA’s system advocates conducting outreach to those who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness, as well as the great partnership among business, philanthropy, and government that made this work possible. However, the Mayor noted: “there is no victory lap until everybody is housed.”

Further, Mayor Harrell affirmed that Seattle will continue to be a compassionate place that provides services and housing to people experiencing homelessness. He recalled the words of United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge ––  “you can’t solve homelessness by banning” –– and repeatedly stated his commitment that  Seattle is known as a welcoming and compassionate city. Relatedly, Mayor Harrell closed out the event speaking about our nation’s history of racially discriminatory vagrancy laws, which effectively criminalized poverty, and his aversion to reinforcing such policies as a city.

You can watch a recording of the full conversation here.

After many months of planning and collaboration, We Are In is proud to have announced Partnership for Zero, a robust public-private effort that will dramatically reduce unsheltered homelessness in King County, starting in Downtown Seattle and the Chinatown/International District.

To learn more about Partnership for Zero, please join us Thursday, March 10th at 4pm for our Partnership for Zero Community Briefing, featuring Felicia Salcedo, Executive Director of We Are In, and Marc Dones, CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. This briefing will be the first of many opportunities to remain engaged, involved, and informed.