LIHI is proud to announce that our An Lạc Apartments were awarded a PCBC Gold Nugget Merit Award! Located in the heart of Chinatown/ID Urban Center Village, the six-story An Lạc is LIHI's latest mixed use project. The building features five floors of residential space with 69 affordable residential studios, one and two bedroom homes above LIHI's new offices.
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Advocacy Wins!
Thank you for calling, emailing, and testifying in support of tiny house villages and investments in affordable housing. On Monday, City Council approved spending plans for JumpStart Seattle and COVID-19 relief that include:
$18 Million for Affordable Housing in the Central Area
City Council approved the allocation of $18 million/year of JumpStart Seattle progressive revenue to build affordable housing in the Central Area for Black working-class people, seniors and others to help reverse the massive displacement that has taken place due to racist gentrification. This victory is thanks to the efforts of many advocates under the leadership of faith leaders such as Rev. Jeffrey, Rev. Willis, and Rev. Seals, and Rev. Ying.
Learn more
here
in an op-ed by Rev. Lawrence Willis and Rev. Angela Ying in the South Seattle Emerald.
Rev. Willis testifying in support of tiny house villages in February before city council (left). Aisaya Corbray (LIHI Housing Development Associate) speaking on the importance of investing in affordable housing in the Central Area, Councilmember Kshama Sawant and Rev. Angela Ying in the background (right).
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$3.6 Million for 4-5 New Villages This Year!
City Council approved $3.6 million in funding for up to five new tiny house villages this year using emergency COVID-19 funding. These new tiny houses will offer shelter, stability, and community to people currently living outside or in congregate shelter settings. LIHI has many potential sites and community partners identified, and is looking forward to further supporting our unhoused neighbors. Read on for some of the powerful testimony from Tuesday's City Council meeting.
"Camp Second Chance has been a phenomenal place for me to feel safe, me and my partner who is trans and has trouble with traditional shelters. I'd also like to say that Camp Second Chance is an excellent place. We have been able to practice social distancing and good personal hygiene and have not had a single member of the camp test positive for coronavirus, so it is a safe and healthy place for us to be"
-Alisa, Camp Second Chance resident
"I'm safe, I'm protected, and I'm not the only one. There have been dozens of people who were in similar situations to mine that needed every bit of help that this camp and the social services that this City could offer them...I can't say thank you to this system enough because I'm 69, I'm low-income, I have multiple overlapping comorbidities, and I honestly needed the help when I came here."
-David, Camp Second Chance resident
"Whittier Heights safely shelters women coming out of domestic violence situations who need a safe place to start rebuilding their lives again. Since January 1st of 2020, of our 15 villagers, 7 have moved into permanent housing. Since its inception, LIHI's tiny house village program has transitioned over 800 to permanent housing."
-Jeanette Causey, Whittier Heights Village Special Projects Manager
"The tiny house village creates benefits to the larger community as well. Whittier Heights was constructed entirely by women in the trades. They are very proud of that. The bank next door was involved in the village from the start, a neighborhood church is a sponsor and hosts meetings of the CAC. Community members are involved, we volunteer, raise money, obtain helpful goods for their next home, decorate for the holidays, have hosted sewing and baking events. LIHI right now has more than half a dozen parcels of land complete with community sponsors and support from the churches ready and willing, eager in fact, to create more safe homes for people currently living on the streets."
-Maureen Brinck-Lund, Whittier Heights Community Advisory Committee member
Please thank Seattle City Council ([email protected]) for their incredible efforts to support our most vulnerable communities during this time, especially Councilmembers Sawant, Morales, and Lewis who championed these budget amendments. We are heading in the right direction, but we still need your help to hold the City accountable. Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda noted that the Council "can only appropriate dollars - we cannot force the mayor to spend" (Seattle Times). Email Mayor Durkan ([email protected]) today to encourage her to commit to spending these much needed funds by telling her that you support more tiny house villages and affordable housing in the Central Area!
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