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HSD Announces Results of the 2019 Farm to Preschool and Out-of-School Time RFQ

August 23, 2019

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the results of the 2019 Farm to Preschool and Out-of-School Time Request for Proposals (RFP) that closed on July 1. Applicants were invited to support food procurement, food equity, and connections between Washington State farmers and Seattle public preschools and before and after school programs serving low-income children and families in Seattle. The RFP guides the investment of more than $200,000, including funding from Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT). HSD received a single application which was reviewed by a committee whose members recommended fully funding the proposal from Farmstand Local Foods, which has a strong background in implementing a food ordering and delivery program that provides affordable, nutritious, and wholesome produce from farm to preschool and OST programs.

Filed Under: Affordability & Livability, Funding Opportunities, Youth Success

City announces Year-Round Youth Employment Program

August 15, 2019

The Seattle Youth Employment Program (SYEP), sponsored by the Seattle Human Services Department, announces the launch of a new year-round pre-employment program to support 200 youth and young adults grow as community leaders and prepare for future work and career opportunities. This is an expansion to the current summer-only SYEP internship program. The new model will provide job-readiness skills, career navigation, exploration and skill building through job readiness workshops employer site visits and professional networking opportunities. The skills and knowledge gained in the year-round program, along with SYEP support services, will prepare participants for success in their summer internships. The year-round model will run from October 2019 to August 2020. Beginning in October, participants will attend weekly sessions and participate in team activities, skills workshops, one on one coaching and support services, assessments, and attending career discovery days. Participants will earn a maximum stipend of $250 per module. Those who complete the series will have a guaranteed 150-hour internship that pays $16 per hour in the summer of 2020.

Filed Under: Youth SuccessTagged With:

ICYMI: Data shows Navigation Team successful in connecting more people to shelter, services while increasing clean-up capacity

August 5, 2019

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) released Quarter 2 (Q2) performance metrics for the City of Seattle’s Navigation Team, which is comprised outreach workers, field coordinators, and police officers that work to connect people living unsheltered to shelter and support services. The Q2 data shows the team working at a higher capacity, connecting more people to shelter when compared to the first quarter of 2019, and increasing operational capacity to better address unmanaged encampments posing public access, health, and safety concerns. When compared to Quarter 1 (Q1), the Navigation Team saw the following increases in Q2: • 16 percent increase in unique individuals engaged by the Navigation Team; • 10 percent increase in unique individuals referred to shelters; • 47 Navigation Team reserved beds available daily, rising from 17 beds available in Q1 o More beds available in basic shelters, tiny house villages, and enhanced shelters; and • 79 more referrals to enhanced shelter and tiny house villages than in Q1.

Filed Under: Homelessness

City-Supported Researchers Release Report on Increasing Use of Technology in Domestic Violence

August 1, 2019

I started working as an Advocate supporting survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking in 2007. In my first year of advocacy, I interacted with survivors whose abusers were using technology against them. This looked like sending intimate images to their workplaces, creating fake Craigslist ads with rape fantasies, or simply just repeated and unwanted contacts via many platforms. When I was approached by Dana Lockhart of SPD’s Victim Support Team in 2016 to start doing more work on this space in our community, not enough had changed. I felt I still wasn’t giving survivors sufficient solutions to what we now call Tech-Enabled Coercive Control (TECC). Dana began organizing the Tech-Enabled Coercive Control (TECC) Working Group; and we partnered with community-agencies, the University of Washington, and other City of Seattle departments to start digging into what we could do.

Filed Under: Safe CommunitiesTagged With:

Aging and Disability Services receives national achievement award

July 29, 2019

The Seattle Human Services Department announced today that its Aging and Disability Services division—which is designated by the State of Washington as the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle-King County—and its Age Friendly Seattle team have been honored with a National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) 2019 Aging Achievement Award in recognition of their efforts to promote accessible events and meetings. Age Friendly Seattle Accessible Events & Meetings was among 48 local aging programs to receive honors at the n4a annual conference, held July 27–31 in New Orleans, and the only one to win in the Community Planning & Livable Communities category. Age Friendly Seattle produced a 40-page Community Guide to Accessible Events & Meetings (a free download) and has coordinated and presented trainings locally and at national conferences. The most recent was a public forum at Seattle City Hall on May 30 called “How to Plan An Accessible Event,” presented by individuals with disabilities (view on The Seattle Channel or YouTube).

Filed Under: Healthy Aging

HSD Announces Results of the 2019 Food and Nutrition Part I RFP

July 25, 2019

The Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is pleased to announce the results of the 2019 Food and Nutrition Part I Request for Proposals (RFP) that closed on April 11. Applicants were invited to provide food and support the system of food delivery to low-income individuals and families in Seattle who are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing, hunger. The RFP guides the investment of more than $4 million of funding in Seattle’s Emergency Food System through two strategies – Food Security & Access and Food System Support. HSD received 33 eligible applications from organizations that were invited to apply to one or both strategies.

Filed Under: Affordability & Livability, Funding Opportunities

Public Hearing: Aging and Disability Services Area Plan

July 15, 2019

Aging and Disability Services—a division of the Seattle Human Services Department—is designated by the state as the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) for King County. On Thursday, July 18, director Cathy Knight and ADS Advisory Council vice-chair Dick Woo will share the agency’s draft objectives for 2020–2023 at an Age Friendly Seattle Coffee Hour in downtown Seattle. The draft objectives describe the agency’s response to emerging issues. Date:   Thursday, July 18, 2019 Time: 10–11 a.m. Place: Central Building 1st Floor Conference Room, 810 3rd Avenue, Seattle

Filed Under: Healthy Aging

HSD Releases 2018 Annual Report

July 3, 2019

2018 was a remarkable year! We elected a new mayor, prepared for changes in the HSD directorship with the departure of Catherine Lester, and experienced growth in our budget and staff as well as changes to some long-standing programs. Instead of letting it slow us down, we focused on the work and our department’s core values of racial equity, results, stewardship, innovation, and our collective experience as employees. Together, we saw many successes. You’ll see this work and its impact described in our just-released 2018 Annual Report.

Filed Under: Investment Areas

HSD Launches Mayor Durkan’s Safe Parking Pilot by Supporting Full Utilization of Existing Program and Seeking Faith Community Partners to Expand Services

July 2, 2019

The Human Services Department (HSD) has moved forward with a partnership with the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (Urban League) and Our Redeemer’s Lutheran Church in Ballard to support an existing program that helps people who are living in their cars connect to case management services and stable permanent housing. In her budget, which was approved by City Council, Mayor Durkan proposed a Safe Parking Pilot to help more people move into housing from vehicles. In addition, HSD will work with other faith community leaders across the City to fully implement the pilot to serve up to 30 households living in their cars.

Filed Under: Homelessness

The Human Services Department Announces Plan to Reduce LGBTQ Discrimination in the Homeless Response System

June 27, 2019

A plan to reduce discrimination and bias The Human Services Department (HSD) is excited to announce a plan to reduce bias and discrimination in the homeless response system toward LGBTQ-identified people experiencing homelessness. The plan, created in partnership in with the Ingersoll Gender Center and the Pride Foundation, identifies thirteen… [ Keep reading ]

Filed Under: Homelessness