To place roofs over the heads of the homeless, a unique partnership has formed between the Gates Foundation, housing authorities throughout Puget Sound and Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park.
The program, called Sound Families Initiative, combines private and public funding for housing projects. It began with a $40 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and agreements with housing authorities to honor rental subsidy funding.
And now, with the Homeless Families Services Fund for $2 million in the state’s budget, officials hope the program will be sustainable.
Greg Shaw, co-chair of the Gates Foundation Steering Committee that makes final funding decisions, said the idea for the Sound Families Initiative program originated from a question posed by Melinda Gates, asking why there were so many homeless families.
“Housing really stood out as an issue and a challenge,” Shaw said.
There is a need for service-based transitional housing, Shaw said, and the theory was that the Gates Foundation could create 1,500 residences surrounded by human services, such as counseling and case management. Transitional housing, he said, can stabilize families and allow them to focus on ending homelessness.
To date, the foundation has achieved half of its goal of 1,500 units, with more than 740 residences created.
To assess the mid-way point, a report evaluated the program at three levels: system, organization and client. The preliminary findings indicate that 55 percent of families increased their income levels while in the Sound Families program, 66 percent of families moved from transitional housing to fair-market, public or subsidized housing, and 64 percent of incoming residents were receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, which was reduced to 44 percent upon leaving the program.
Kagi said that because the Gates Foundation paid for the Sound Families Initiative survey, officials saw the program made a sizable impact. This provides an opportunity for the state to look at new ways to provide funding in the future, she said.
“It is not often the state can see results and make decisions based on evaluations,” Kagi said.
The foundation is striving to create a sustainable model even when Gates Foundation funding ends, Shaw said. Shaw said the foundation’s partnership with Kagi has helped and what has been achieved would not have happened without her leadership.
Kagi was contacted before the 2004 Legislative session by the Sound Families Initiative, which requested funding for a sustaining services fund that would exist for 15 years and be used to assist families once they receive housing.
Although Kagi’s original legislation did not pass, the Homeless Families Services Fund was established in the budget for $2 million. This is a compromised private and public effort, using state funding together with private investments.
A selling aspect of the program, she said, was that it was viewed as a one-time investment. And, the $2 million was reduced from the $15 million originally proposed.
Katie Hong, director of Seattle’s Office of Housing, said the initiative has created a pathway for homeless families, by either obtaining Section 8 housing or access to public housing. Section 8 is critical, she said, because it is a federal resource, where people can obtain vouchers that indicate 30 percent of their income will go toward rent and the rest is paid by the federal government.
The typical person helped by the foundation is a 32-year-old woman with 1-2 children, said Hong. Forty-eight percent are homeless for the first time and one-third already have jobs. They are often victims of domestic violence and are not aware of what services are available to them. The families generally stay in housing for eight months, before advancing to permanent housing.
“We are still at the midway point to the end goal,” Hong said. “We are very pleased with the outcome so far.”
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