Last month, We Are In concluded a three-part virtual event series, which convened local candidates for the upcoming August 3rd primary election as well as local, state and federal leaders to discuss solutions to homelessness in King County.

Remember to mail or drop off your ballot by August 3rd! You can find a ballot drop box in your area via the King County Elections’ website.

In May, Seattle mayoral candidates — Casey Sixkiller, Colleen Echohawk, Jessyn Farrell, Bruce Harrell, Andrew Grant Houston and Lance Randall (Lorena González was unable to attend) — joined us for a virtual forum on housing and homelessness. Each candidate was given the opportunity to speak directly to the public and local homelessness advocacy and service organizations about their policy positions, including affordable housing construction and tenant protections. We Are In partners that joined the event included Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Housing Development Consortium, Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, Lived Experience Coalition, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, United Way of King County, YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, The Mockingbird Society, Building Changes, Seattle for Everyone, Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County, and Campion Advocacy Fund.

In June, our City Council Forum covered similar issue areas, providing citywide Position 9 candidates Sara Nelson, Nikkita Oliver, and Brianna Thomas the opportunity to share their views on housing affordability and homelessness and speak directly to the public and We Are In’s partners.

We look forward to similar engagement during the fall general election, stay tuned for announcements!

Later in the month, We Are In convened a panel of local, state and federal leaders to discuss ongoing efforts to end homelessness in King County. The panelists provided updates on recent investments in the region’s fight against homelessness and emphasized the importance of developing a collaborative, regional, cross-sector strategy for King County. The event featured former Governor and CEO of Challenge Seattle, Christine Gregoire; King County Executive Dow Constantine; Marc Dones, CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority; Ben Winter, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development; State Senator Patty Kuderer (48th LD); and our own Daniel Zavala, Interim Director of We Are In and Building Changes.