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Human Interests

Seattle Human Services news and events

Update: New Severe Winter Shelter Availability

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Winter Response: Jan.12 – Jan 19

SEATTLE – Last Sunday, the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) opened the Severe Weather Shelter at Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall. This shelter is open daily between 8pm and 7am through Monday morning, January 20. This shelter can accommodate roughly 100 adults and their pets, and no one will be turned away. The Seattle Center Armory will continue to be open during regular hours (7am to 9pm Sunday through Thursday, and 7am to 10pm Friday and Saturday) to serve as a warming center. Since opening last Sunday, this shelter has seen a steady increase in overnight stays. For more details, please visit this page.

New Shelter Resources

Thumbnail image of Sever Winter Shelter flier at Bitter Lake Community Center
Click image above to view all fliers

HSD is activating an additional shelter at the Seattle Municipal Tower (SMT), which is located at 700 5th Ave. This shelter is also available to adults and pets and no one will be turned away. People may arrive at 7pm and wait inside for the shelter to open at 8pm. The SMT shelter will operate through Friday morning, January 17. 

HSD and Seattle Parks and Recreation are also opening an overnight shelter at the Bitter Lake Community Center, which is located at 13035 Linden Ave N. The shelter will open this evening at 7pm and run continuously as a warming center and overnight shelter for families with children and people living in vehicles. Single adults and couples are welcome at this facility as well.  This shelter will operate 24 hours a day beginning TONIGHT.

Additional Shelter

King County Administration Building will offer 50 additional emergency shelter beds through Wednesday night, January 15. The shelter is located at the King County Administration Building located at 500 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle. The shelter serves people who identify as men, age 18 and older, from 7pm to 6am.

Mary’s Place also has activated winter protocols and can accommodate those with children experiencing homelessness. Mary’s Place has expanded their intake hours and are partnering with Lyft and Uber to provide transportation to families. Please call Mary’s Place at 206-245-1026 for more information.

All existing City-funded shelters have been asked by HSD to expand capacity to accommodate all people in need of safe shelter during this severe weather event. Shelter is also available in the lower level and lobby of City Hall. 

Outreach and Resources

HSD has communicated with all City-funded service and outreach providers to open any additional spaces for increased capacity during severe weather and to connect with those living outdoors to encourage them to seek shelter. The Navigation Team will continue to focus efforts on outreach and storage services during this time and will be available to transport vulnerable individuals living unsheltered to shelter.


Freezing temperatures put our neighbors living unsheltered at even greater risk, so please help the City get them into safer, warmer places.  The City and its regional partners are working to help bring people into warmer, safer places. If you are concerned about an individual living unsheltered, or in need, call 2-1-1 to assist in connecting an individual to resources. If 2-1-1 line is busy, the 24-hour Crisis Line 866-427-4747 can also provide information on warming shelters. For emergencies, contact Seattle Police by calling 9-1-1. SPD has transport vans to take people to warming centers and shelters.

For additional information, please visit HSD’s Blog, Twitter, and Facebook.

Leadership, Legacy, and Advocacy Trailblazers Recognized on Human Trafficking Awareness Day

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Mayor Jenny A. Durkan proclaimed the month of January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month,” and last Friday, January 10, 2020 to be “Human Trafficking Awareness Day” to proclaim the equality and freedom inherent to all people, to advocate for legislation and protection for survivors, to raise awareness, and to recognize leaders in addressing human trafficking.

“Working to end human trafficking takes passion, commitment, courage, and leadership,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan, at an event held Friday morning at City Hall. “An estimated 400,000 people are believed trapped in forced labor to sex trafficking in the United States. In Seattle, we want that number to be zero, and we must do everything we can to end human trafficking in our City and world. Today, we are honoring key leaders and trailblazers whose collective work have built the foundation for the anti-trafficking movement that we currently have in Seattle, King County, and Washington state today.”

“Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and addressing it requires a shared community responsibility,” said Jason Johnson, Acting Director of HSD. “I thank Mayor Durkan for her leadership as U.S. Attorney and as Mayor in elevating this issue and supporting the City of Seattle’s work to prevent and end exploitation and abuse. I also want to thank our local leaders, including City staff, that have made it their life’s work to address this issue.”

The Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) hosted this year’s “Human Trafficking Awareness Day” partly to recognize the leadership, legacy, and advocacy of trailblazers in our community who have been leading the fight over the past two decades:

  • Former State Rep. Velma Veloria served six terms in the House of Representatives from 1992 until 2004. She successfully lobbied and fought for affordable housing, workers’ rights, racial justice and took particular interest in the impact of international trade and globalization on local communities.  Rep. Veloria worked with local activists to gain passage of HB 1175, making the State of Washington the first state in the nation to criminalize human trafficking on a state level. Since the enactment of HB 1175, 48 states in the nation have passed similar legislation.
  • King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles created The State Task Force Against Human Trafficking with her Senate Bill 5884 which was enacted in 2015.  Currently, she is continuing work on this issue as a County Councilmember by addressing the issue of labor trafficking and economic exploitation. Councilmember Kohl-Welles secured funding for a study to combat human trafficking and economic exploitation in the 2016 budget process. 
  • Dr. Sutapa Basu coordinated the first anti-human trafficking conference in Washington State.  Prior to and since then, Dr. Basu and the UW Women’s Center have been a local leader in research, publications, and conferences to raise awareness of human trafficking and the push and pull factors stemming from economics, globalization, and racism.   
  • Dr. Debra Boyer authored Who Pays the Price: An Assessment of Youth Involvement in Prostitution in Seattle [pdf]. This report, commissioned by the City of Seattle and released in 2008, initiated the City of Seattle’s investment in services to support survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, and related coordinated response work facilitated by HSD’s Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. 
  • Dr. Sheila Houston has made a difference in the sex trafficking world by leading outreach and victim support teams to work with survivors of trafficking. Her leadership consisted of being directly involved with over 2,500 victims.  Her work has been featured in Seattle Pacific University’s Response Magazine “All in a Days Work” and in 2012 Seattle Met Magazine recognized her as “The Finder of Lost Children”. She has appeared on Northwest Today, Headline News with Jane-Velez-Mitchell, the local NPR radio, as well as every local news channel and paper in the Seattle area. 
  • Emma Catague has 40 years of experience in advocacy. Her “natural helper model” focusing on community-mobilization, community-building, and empowerment has been replicated locally, regionally, and nationally.  Her advocacy work locally and regionally resulted in changes in funding policies, established task forces, and initiated legislation to address gender-based violence, which includes anti-trafficking legislation in Washington State.
  • WashACT is a multi-disciplinary task force convened in 2006 by the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. The Committee’s mission is to ensure that victims of trafficking receive all resources available to them, and that human traffickers are identified, investigated and prosecuted to the utmost extent of the law.

After the proclamation and presentation of awards by Mayor Durkan, and some remarks by WashACT Co-chairs, attendees listened to a keynote presentation and panel discussion with service providers and trafficking survivors.

To report concerns that human trafficking might be taking place, please call
the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network Victim Assistance Line at 206.245.0782or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888.3737.888.

Severe Weather Shelter will open SUNDAY NIGHT JAN 12th through SUNDAY NIGHT JAN 19th

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HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!

In anticipation of forecasted snow and extreme temperatures, the City of Seattle will open a severe weather shelter for adults (all genders) starting Sunday night, January 12th through Sunday night, January 19th at the Exhibition Hall at the Seattle Center – 301 Mercer Street – Seattle, WA 98109. The shelter will open at 8pm each night and will close at 7am.

Thumbnail graphic of SEVERE WEATHER SHELTER flier listing information contained in the blog post
Click to view flier

For more shelter options, please call 211 for help and follow @SeattleHSD for updates.

The Severe Weather Shelter is operated by The Salvation Army, and people may use the lower level entrance to enter the Hall. Referral forms are NOT required.

Bus routes to Seattle Center include: #1, #2, #3, #4, #8, #13, #32, and Rapid Ride D Line; and service is also provided by The Seattle Center Monorail running from Westlake Center, accessible by stairs and elevator from Downtown and the Westlake light rail station.

City of Seattle Proclaims January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month” to Encourage Public Awareness and Action Against Human Trafficking

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Taylor-Judd, Public Relations Specialist, External Affairs, City of Seattle Human Services Department, 206-256-5225, michael.taylor-judd@seattle.gov

Seattle – (January 2, 2020) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan proclaimed the month of January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month,” and January 10, 2020 to be “Human Trafficking Awareness Day” to proclaim the equality and freedom inherent to all people, to advocate for legislation and protection for survivors, to educate leaders, and to encourage public awareness and action against various forms of human trafficking.

U.S. law defines human trafficking as the use of force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person into commercial sex acts or labor or services against his or her will. The one exception involves minors and commercial sex. Inducing a minor into commercial sex is considered human trafficking regardless of the presence of force, fraud or coercion.

Seattle strives to become a place where human trafficking does not exist, where people have opportunities available to them so as not to fall into financial vulnerability, and where all people are treated as fully human and worthy of fair pay, safe working conditions, and freedom.

Flier for Human Trafficking Awareness Day event hosted on January 10, 2020 from 8:30am-11:00am in the Bertha Knight Landes room in Seattle City Hall. FREE registration can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KH9G5VY
Click the image above to view the event flier

Washington State has a proud history of tireless anti-trafficking activism pioneered by women such as former State Representative Velma Veloria, Dr. Sutapa Basu, Executive Director of the UW Women’s Center, and Emma Catague, Community Organizing Program Manager at Asian & Pacific Islander (API) CHAYA (formerly Women and Family Safety Center).

To learn more about local efforts to disrupt human trafficking and ways to get involved, the Seattle Human Services Department’s Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) is partnering with the Washington Advisory Committee on Trafficking (WashACT) to host a program honoring these women and others who have led the way in this work and featuring a panel discussion including survivors, activists, and representatives from our criminal justice response to help expand the conversation around human trafficking in the City of Seattle.

This event will be hosted on Friday, January 10, 2020 from 8:30am-11:00am in the Bertha Knight Landes room in Seattle City Hall. FREE registration can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KH9G5VY

To report concerns that human trafficking might be taking place, please call
the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network Victim Assistance Line at 206.245.0782 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888.3737.888.

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As 2019 Comes to a Close…

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The year has kept the Seattle Human Services Department busy, presenting many challenges, opportunities, and reasons to celebrate! 

As we enter 2020, lets take a moment to look at 19 highlights from ’19 that demonstrate the incredible work our teams have accomplished together – and with your partnership – over the last year:

Preparing Youth for Success:

Seattle Youth Employment Program participants celebrate at Capstone event in Seattle Center at the conclusion of their summer internships
SYEP youth celebrate at Capstone event in Seattle Center in August
  1. Youth and Family Empowerment staff conducted a successful funding opportunity to invest $4.4 million next year in 14 proposals from community organizations to provide support for youth and young adults harmed by the criminal legal system in Seattle.
  2. We have expanded the Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP) from summer-only to a year-round model, providing increased access for youth to grow as community leaders and prepare for future work and career opportunities by engaging in a set curriculum to build job-readiness skills as part of a cohort of youth.
  3. The Summer Food Service Program served over 175,000 meals and snacks at 114 sites this year, providing nutrition to kids so they can thrive and grow upon returning to school.

Supporting Affordability and Livability:

A Seattle Preschool Program student picks up his family's Good Food Bag
Seattle Preschool Program student picks up his family’s Good Food Bag (Photo: Tilth Alliance)
  1. The Utility Discount Program​ expanded their stellar services to bring affordability to nearly 34,000 utility customers throughout our region, and once again presented the Energy, Utility, and Resource Summit in conjunction with Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities.  
  2. Partnered with the Office of Sustainability and Environment and Department of Education and Early Learning to support the Fresh Bucks To Go food bag pilot, an offshoot of the City of Seattle’s Fresh Bucks program, which delivers healthy, local produce and online convenience directly to families through the Seattle Public Preschool Program and before- and after-school programs serving low-income children and families in Seattle.
  3. HSD’s Child Care Bonus Program provided $2M in capital funding for the development of a location of the Denise Louise Early Learning Center, which will serve 300 children and their guardians annually in six new classrooms, as part of Mercy Housing’s project which redeveloped the historic Sand Point Naval Air Station into 148 affordable apartments –as well as resident services and a neighborhood health clinic.
  4. HSD granted $50,000 to Villa Comunitaria to work with the Latinx Community and South Park residents to expand their urban garden at Marra Farm. The expansion will provide hands-on learning about organics and healthy soil production, distribution, and sales of produce. The grant will support seasonal garden events; community meals at Marra Farm; and field trips to connect residents with food resources, such as local farmers markets and community kitchens.

Addressing Homelessness:

Man staying at emergency winter shelter inside Jefferson Community Center
Man staying at emergency winter shelter (Photo: Tim Durkan)
  1. Our ongoing strategic investments in homelessness helped shelter and house more people in 2019 than any other year.
  2. Critical services were surged to unprecedented levels during last winter’s storms to deliver food and supportive services to more than 1,250 people. During the worst of the storms, our partners stood up emergency shelter for hundreds of people at community centers across Seattle and HSD case managers called 700+ high-risk clients to ensure they were safe, had enough food, and had an up-to-date emergency plan.
  3. We also have had an opportunity to transform our homelessness response system by taking a new and collaborative path throughout the Seattle region. Just before the holiday break, a new King County Regional Homelessness Authority was agreed upon​.
  4. Even as we planned for new governance, staff were working with community partners to increase access and safety in shelter for transgender persons experiencing homelessness. We’ll be rolling out opportunities related to these policy improvements in 2020.
  5. In October, we partnered with Port of Seattle to extend the City’s lease at Interbay Village for an additional year.

Promoting Public Health:

Health One unit staff pose in front of their vehicle with Seattle City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, and Fire Chief Harold Scroggins
(Photo: Seattle Fire Department)
  1. The Seattle Fire Department expanded its Mobile Integrated Health program by partnering with HSD to provide case management services on more calls, including a new ride-along program called Health One which provides an instant connection to health and social services when needed and keeps resources free for emergencies that need immediate attention.

Responding to Gender-Based Violence:

Staff from City of Seattle's Mayor’s Office, Office of Labor Standards, Legislative Department, and Human Services Department dressed in purple to participate in #PurpleThursday by posting a photo to social media.
City of Seattle staff dressed in purple to participate in #PurpleThursday.
  1. Support of community-based and systems providers to carry out survivor supportive services, outreach, and prevention through the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) resulted in more than 9,000 individuals and families served in 2019. That is 2,000 more than last year. Thank you!
  2. MODVSA staff also advanced work to find solutions to Tech-Enabled Coercive Control (TECC) by serving on the TECC working group, which partnered with community agencies to establish a volunteer clinic at New Beginnings that helps survivors plan their tech safety.
  3. We also led a successful effort to increase education and awareness this year through a series of events, including:

Promoting Health Aging:

Seattle Human Services staff pose for a photo before the start of Sounders FC Age-Friendly Day on September 15th
HSD staff pose for a photo before the start of Sounders FC Age-Friendly Day at Century Link Field
  1. Aging and Disability Services staff provided more Medicaid services to improve older adults’ health and safety in their homes, reaching 1,291 individuals with new services—this program is experiencing an average of 60 new referrals each month!
  2. Every four years, Area Agencies on Aging around the country develop an Area Plan, which charts the course we will follow as we seek to create an age-friendly community. The plan describes the function of Aging and Disability Services as the local Area Agency on Aging, presents relevant demographic trends, and outlines the major goals and objectives to be achieved over the course of four years. The final draft Area Plan 2020–2023 for Seattle and King County, Washington, was submitted October 4, 2019, as a result of countless engagements with staff, partners, and the community, including reviews of both local and national research in conjunction with DPE to best address the needs of Seattle’s older adults.
  3. We partnered with AARP to host the first Age Friendly Day at the SoundersFC on September 15

While not all-inclusive of the hard work of HSD staff over the past twelve months, it demonstrates the breadth of our work across our six key investment impact areas as we collaborate and perform services each day that deserve recognition. 

Please join us in celebrating these tremendous contributions toward our department results as we look towards 2020 and continuing to rise to the challenge of making a difference in people’s lives!

Your Partner,

Jason Johnson,
Acting Director

Talking About Human Trafficking

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Consider what you’ve been told about Human Trafficking. Consider how it has been portrayed in movies, television, or even some awareness campaigns. Have you seen pictures of slender wrists in handcuffs? Have you seen movies about a middle-class, adolescent female vacationing abroad when she is suddenly taken? Consider how rarely you see discussion of the invisible and coercive forces of poverty, psychological control, and isolation. The majority of trafficking situations involve such non-physical restraints, and as we enter the new year, and January’s observance of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, it is time to talk about that.**

Human trafficking occurs when someone employs force, fraud, or coercion to compel the victim to provide commercial sex acts, labor, or other forms of work. It is important to note that any commercial sex involving a minor is considered trafficking. The coercion in trafficking situations can take many, complex forms.

Tabitha Clifford, a Survivor Engagement Specialist with Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST), believes it is important to dispel some of the common myths around who experiences human trafficking: “I really want to stress the piece about all genders. It’s something that REST has really taken on in terms of accepting that all genders are in the life and need help and respecting people’s pronouns. It’s super important to stress that. There’s so many men, women, transgender individuals involved. It’s not just women. All genders need services.”

Clifford also emphasizes the importance of having those with lived experience spearheading response efforts: “Survivor leadership is hugely important for understanding and bridging the gap for people in the life and others being able to relate. When we have more survivors in leadership, we kind of have that key piece where clients understand ‘she’s not a square.’ We know what we’re talking about because we lived it. Not only having worked with the vulnerable population, but having been the vulnerable population. It bridges understanding and stereotypes.”

The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) is a form of sex trafficking that occurs when a person buys, sells, or trades sex acts with a child under the age of 18. The King County CSEC Task Force has collected disturbing data that illustrates how CSEC perpetuates patterns of racial, economic, and gender oppression. Their 2019 report shows that 73% of sex buyers of children identified in King County were white men. Conversely, the child victims of sex trafficking were 45% African-American, which is significantly disproportionate when compared to the general population of King County.

Labor trafficking can often be erased among more sensationalized discussions of sex trafficking, yet goods and services produced by forced labor are a part of our daily lives.  The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 16 million people were trafficked via forced labor in the private economy in 2016. That same year, the ILO estimated that an additional 4.8 million people were trafficked via forced sexual exploitation and 4.1 million in forced state labor. Of the total number of those kept in such forms of modern slavery, 71% are estimated to be women and girls. Employers engaged in labor trafficking may exploit survivor vulnerabilities — such as undocumented immigration status, poverty, and a lack of labor protections — in order to assert power and control over an individual.

Of the 16 million trafficking victims in the private economy, the largest portion (24%) were domestic workers. Labor protections such as the City of Seattle’s Domestic Workers Ordinance seek to empower workers and prevent trafficking tactics by requiring rest breaks, meal breaks, and forbidding confiscation of critical documents such as a passport.

Thumbnail image of the event flier for Human Trafficking Awareness Day: Leadership, Legacy, and Advocacy happening on January 10, 2020 at Seattle City Hall in the Bertha Knight Landes Room. Doors open at 8:30am; the program runs from 9:00-11:00am.
Click on the image above to view the event flier

Washington State has a proud history of tireless anti-trafficking activism pioneered by women such as former State Representative Velma Veloria, Dr. Sutapa Basu, Executive Director of the UW Women’s Center, and Emma Catague, Community Organizing Program Manager at Asian & Pacific Islander (API) CHAYA (formerly Women and Family Safety Center). Thanks to their leadership, Washington was the first state in the nation to adopt anti-trafficking legislation in 2003.

To learn more about local efforts to disrupt human trafficking and ways to get involved, the Seattle Human Services Department’s Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (MODVSA) is partnering with the Washington Advisory Committee on Trafficking (WashACT) to host a program honoring some of the women who have led the way in this work and featuring a panel discussion including survivors, activists, and representatives from our criminal justice response to help expand the conversation around human trafficking in the City of Seattle.

This event will be hosted on January 10th from 8:30am-11:00am in the Bertha Knight Landes room in Seattle City Hall. FREE registration can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KH9G5VY

**Blog author Natalie Dolci, LICSW, currently works as a Planning & Development Specialist with the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

For additional reading, she recommends Gerassi, Lara, B., Nichols, Andrea J, Sex Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Prevention, Advocacy, and Trauma-Informed Response

To report concerns that human trafficking might be taking place, please call
the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network Victim Assistance Line at 206.245.0782 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888.3737.888.

HSD Releases 2020 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA)

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HSD is pleased to issue its 2020 Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) related to the following investments:

  1. Older Adult Health Promotion
  2. Re-entry/Re-rooting Indigenous Community Healing
  3. Food Bank Services: Georgetown, South Park, Delridge Neighborhoods
  4. Supporting Youth and Young Adults for Success

This notice provides an overview of HSD’s impending funding opportunities for 2020 with a brief description of the service areas, anticipated funding amounts, release dates, and contract start dates. These funding opportunities represent over $4 million in investments in nonprofit services; once finalized, HSD will issue detailed funding opportunities for each investment.

The NOFA is available for download now in the Funding Opportunities section of our website at www.seattle.gov/humanservices or by clicking here: Notice of Funding Availability (PDF) 

Severe Weather Shelter Opening Over Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

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HELP US SPREAD THE WORD!

In anticipation of forecasted temperatures below freezing overnight, severe weather shelter expansion for adults 18 years of age and above — all genders — will be open every night from Wednesday, November 27 through Monday, December 2, starting tonight at Seattle Municipal Tower (700 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104). For more shelter options, please call 211 for help and follow @SeattleHSD for updates.

Thumbnail image of flier showing a picture of Seattle Municipal Tower and the shelter information shown in the blog post.

Please note that Severe Weather Shelter opening times vary as follows:

  • Wednesday, 11/27 – 9pm
  • Thursday, 11/28 – 7pm
  • Friday, 11/29 – 7pm
  • Saturday, 11/30 – 7pm
  • Sunday, 12/1 – 7pm
  • Monday, 12/2 – 9pm

The Severe Weather Shelter is operated by The Salvation Army, and people may enter on 5th Avenue and Cherry Street.

NOTE–previous notification indicated Seattle City Hall as the severe weather shelter. The location has changed to Seattle Municipal Tower, which is located across the street from City Hall. People arriving at City Hall will be directed by staff to the new location.

HSD Announces Results of the Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax Public Awareness & Counter-Marketing Campaign Consultant Contract RFP

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The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the results of the 2019 Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) Public Awareness & Counter-Marketing Campaign Consultant Contract Request for Proposal (RFP) that closed on October 2. The RFP sought consultants interested in developing a community-led public awareness campaign of creative and culturally relevant branding and messaging to communicate the impacts of sugary sweetened beverages on members of our community — including a special focus on youth.

The RFP guides the investment of up to $473,046 in 2019 and $236,523 in 2020 for an estimated 15-month contract. This funding is provided by the City of Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax established by City Council.

HSD received four innovative and diverse proposals that were reviewed and rated by committees whose members work with focus and priority populations and/or have expertise in food access, marketing, communications, and government contracting in Seattle and King County. Members were relatively age-, gender-, and ethnically diverse. All four firms that applied for funding are registered Women and Minority Owned Businesses (WMBE) with the City of Seattle.

The rating committees recommended fully funding The Vida Agency in the requested amount of $547,347.

Some of The Vida Agency’s recent projects include developing a multilingual digital campaign for King County Metro to inform a broad audience of residents in Delridge about the upcoming RapidRide H line, website and content development for The Laurel Rubin Farm Worker Justice Project, and a multi-year relationship with the Latino Community Fund of Washington State.

“Our team breathes new life into projects; wrapping different perspectives around the same data and identifying metrics that matter. We broaden (or pinpoint) audiences, expand possibilities, ask new questions and amplify the voices of the unheard and underserved,” the team proudly proclaims on their website. “We join forces, make you laugh, push back (not check a box) and lead a process that reveals possibilities and strengthen bonds for the long game.”

The Sweetened Beverage Tax Community Advisory Board (CAB), composed of Mayor and City Council appointees, was established by the City Council ordinance which created the SBT to advise and make recommendations to the Mayor and City Council on programs and services supported by the tax. Members of the CAB consulted with HSD during the funding process by designing RFP questions, reviewing applications, and interviewing applicants.

“The CAB is enthusiastic to see this public awareness and counter-marketing project underway, and with a clear commitment to developing a campaign that is shaped and developed by youth of color who are most impacted by the predatory and manipulative marketing practices of the beverage industry”, said CAB member Lisa Chen. Ms. Chen is a food access representative on the CAB and participated in the RFP rating committee.

City of Seattle Proclaims October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” to Raise Awareness for Victims and Survivors of Abuse

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For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael Taylor-Judd, Public Relations Specialist, External Affairs, City of Seattle Human Services Department, 206-256-5225, michael.taylor-judd@seattle.gov or Cynthia Santana, Communications Manager, 206-256-5219, cynthia.santana@seattle.gov

Seattle – (October 14, 2019) – Mayor Jenny A. Durkan proclaimed the month of October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” to raise public awareness and support for victims and survivors of gender-based violence. The Office of Labor Standards (OLS) and the Human Services Department (HSD) mark this month as a time to remember victims and survivors of abuse and exploitation; to raise awareness of violence and its effect on families and communities; and acknowledge and highlight those working to address ending gender-based violence.

Nationally, women lose eight million days of paid work each year due to domestic violence. Seattle’s Paid Sick and Safe Time (PSST) Ordinance provides more than paid sick leave. It also provides Seattle workers with paid leave for absences for critical safety issues arising from domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

The City of Seattle invests more than $10 million annually in gender-based violence services, including prevention, legal, intervention, housing, and offender accountability services. In Washington State, 41 percent of women and 32 percent of men report experiencing violence from an intimate partner. Additionally, language barriers, lack of culturally relevant services, threats of deportation, and fear of isolation put marginalized communities at an increased risk of experiencing gender-based violence. Women of color and Native women are two-to-three times more likely to experience a gender-based, violence-related fatality than their white counterparts.   

HSD employees wear their color for #PurpleThursday and hold the Mayor’s Proclamation.

Join the City of Seattle in honoring the victims and survivors of domestic violence by wearing purple every Thursday during October. During Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Seattle City Hall lights will be purple, and on Thursday, October 24th City of Seattle staff will be joined by some other cities in the region for #PugetSoundPurpleThursday. Get your colleagues or loved ones together and join us by posting your photos online using the hashtag. For more ideas and action steps that you can take to end domestic violence, visit: https://endgv.org/ or https://wscadv.org/dvam/.

Please visit the OLS website for more information on the PSST Ordinance or call 206-256-5297; and visit the Seattle Human Services Department for more on supportive victim services. 

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