The Emergency Broadband Benefit will provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute $10-$50 toward the purchase price. The Emergency Broadband Benefit is limited to one…

The report found that between 2019 and 2020, homelessness increased significantly among unsheltered populations and people experiencing chronic homelessness. “The findings of the 2020 AHAR Part 1 Report are very troubling, even before you consider what COVID-19 has done to make the homelessness crisis worse,” said Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge. “Thanks to President Biden’s leadership, we are once again putting Housing First to end this…

Commerce is launching a new online HMIS Learning System web portal for HMIS Trainings. Trainings are at your own pace, any day or time! They currently focus on the required trainings for new users, but we have plans to expand training. To learn more about HMIS, visit our webpage.  Commerce needs TWO things to be completed before a staff person can take the HMIS New User training: Complete this form:…

Many of you joined a presentation in early December to learn about Governor Jay Inslee’s Poverty Reduction Work Group work to create a comprehensive 10-year plan to reduce poverty and inequality in our state. The final report was released this week and provides a roadmap to a more just and equitable future for all Washingtonians. Not only does the report recommend that the state increase and preserve more affordable housing,…

We are working to deliver better actionable data to stakeholders. To accomplish this, we are revamping the existing project level dashboards and making a single, more comprehensive dashboard to visualize the important things to homeless system performance and the management of services. We recently held a survey to gather your thoughts on how the dashboards can be improved, and we received some great feedback. The next step in this process…

The 2021 annual Point in Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness in Washington state will be on the night of Thursday, Jan. 28. This year we will be conducting the sheltered count only. There will be no statewide unsheltered count. Each year the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Washington state require a statewide count of all persons staying in temporary housing programs (sheltered count) and…

The Department of Commerce is working to deliver better actionable data to stakeholders. This update means revamping the existing project level dashboards and making a single, more comprehensive dashboard to visualize the important things to homeless system performance and the management of services. The first step in this process is evaluating how everyone engages with the current data visualizations and what they want to see improved. Keep in mind that…

People who are homeless or transient may not know they qualify for the $1,200 Economic Impact Payments (EIP) — also called “stimulus checks” — that went out last spring. They might also get an additional $500 for each qualifying child, and they don’t need an income to claim the payment. That’s why the FTC is working with the IRS to get the word out about how people can still collect…

The Office of Crime Victims Advocacy is accepting applications to help address emergent victim service needs in the Black community. This is an open, ongoing funding opportunity. Staff will review applications as they are received. The funding opportunity will remain open as long as funds are available. Eligible applicants are non-profit or governmental organizations that are by and for the Black community. This means that the organization must have a…

Homeless service providers are well aware that Washington has the fifth-highest prevalence of homelessness in the nation, with 9,600 people living unsheltered and more than 11,000 people living in temporary homeless housing. Did you also know that 12.9% of Washington’s residents, 942,318 individuals, live with a disability? Add to that the pre and post-pandemic unemployment rates, and the impact on a person’s life is overwhelming. The Department of Commerce sponsors…