Housing hope for those who need it most

By Bette Reed
Some folks in our community believe that in a tight economy the last thing we should do is vote for a housing levy, when in fact there are over 6,000 reasons we should. That’s the number of homeless persons identified in last winter’s one-night count.

There may be even more if we include those families facing imminent eviction as housing costs devour over half of their incomes. A close look at the housing figures in this city makes it pretty clear that, more than ever, we need the housing levy to pass.

For starters, we are losing our battle in the fight to end homelessness. Each year the body count in the annual midwinter night watch climbs, not because of an increase in ne’er-do-wells and drunks but because the number of units affordable to those with limited income shrinks. As a footnote to this number, a noticeable increase has been observed in the number of seniors now seeking space in our shelters and sleeping out of doors.

Historically we have come through with funding for housing in our most desperate economic times. It was during the dark days of the Great Depression that the squalid slums of First Hill gave way to the Yesler Terrace community. Again in 1981 the City provided levy funding to create the one-of-a-kind Senior Housing Program that provides shelter to thousands of low income seniors in 23 buildings throughout the city.

This year’s levy proposed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council is modest in comparison with the construction the city has witnessed recently in commercial ventures and modest in what it can return to the community. The $145 million would, in its seven year life span, generate $3 for every dollar spent from sources as diverse as HUD, private investor tax credits and the state’s Housing Trust Fund. It would create an estimated 3,140 jobs and stimulate $189 million in construction and related activity. The estimated 16 cents per $1,000 assessed home value is small potatoes stacked against such returns.

But the purpose of the levy after all is housing and specifically housing for those who need it most. Those who have lost housing when an affordable apartment morphed into a costly condominium. Those who saw housing costs eat away more and more of their limited income as the housing frenzy exploded.

This levy is designed to produce or preserve 1,670 apartments specifically for those priced out of the current rental market. It will provide emergency rental assistance for those facing eviction and assist first-time home buyers in purchasing housing. In the past our housing levy has helped stabilize our neighborhoods and stimulate the economy at the same time providing housing for our neediest neighbors. If we have any conscience at all we vote YES on the housing levy this year.