Emergency Shelters

More snow and cold temperatures are headed our way! To help our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness stay safe and keep warm, the City of Seattle has opened several cold weather shelters:

Garfield Community Center (2323 E. Cherry Street)
24-hour severe weather shelter for families open beginning Friday night, Feb. 8 through Monday morning, Feb. 11. 

Seattle Center Exhibition Hall (301 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109) 
This co-ed shelter for adults will be open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through Sunday, Feb. 10. For more information, click here or contact (206) 684-0231.

Extra shelter beds will also be available at the King County Administration Building (500 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104) through February 14th, for males over the age of 18. Seattle Center Armory (305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109) will serve as a day warming shelter from 7:00 am – 10:00 pm.

For up-to-date information on severe weather shelters, click here. 

Stay safe and warm at home, work, and out and about! 

Community budgeting: Decide how part of the public budget is spent

This month I am highlighting multiple Participatory Budget opportunities through the Department of Neighborhoods (DON), and the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). According to DON, “Participatory Budgeting is a democratic process that was first developed in Brazil in 1989 and is now practiced in over 3,000 cities around the world. Participatory budgeting focuses on engaging people who have not historically been involved in government or budget processes and lets community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget.” 

Here are three opportunities open right now: 

When: Saturday 2/16 at 10 a.m. 
Where: Phinney Neighborhood Center (6532 Phinney Ave. N)
Website

DON has updated their guidelines for the Neighborhood Matching Fund, city dollars dedicated to funding projects developed and implemented by you, the community. The new Fund will be available to a greater number of projects while still allowing comprehensive projects to receive multiple awards in phases. I am so proud of the D7 leaders who have been funded over the past few cycles, including the John Hay Elementary Playground project, ADA restrooms at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, and Market to MOHAI, our City’s first Age Friendly Corridor from Pike Place Market to MOHAI! 
 
2. Your Voice, Your Choice: Parks and Streets
When: Ongoing until 2/22
Where: Online and at Seattle Public Libraries

DON launched Your Voice, Your Choice: Parks and Streets “idea collection” last week. We would love your help getting the word out and encouraging people to submit project ideas. Your Voice, Your Choice: Parks and Streets program allows community members to democratically decide how to spend $2 million of the City’s budget on small-scale park and street improvements throughout the city. In its first year, community members across the city submitted nearly 900 project ideas, which were narrowed down to ten per City Council district by Project Development Teams. According to DON, each Council district selected their top projects amounting up to $285,000 per district.

From now until Feb. 22, community members can submit project ideas online or in-person at any Seattle Public Library branch. 

3. Neighborhood Street Fund Online Voting
When: Ongoing until 2/22
Where: Online - Website

Rounding out the trio of participatory budget programs is the Neighborhood Street Fund (NSF), run by SDOT. NSF enables you to propose and prioritize transportation-related projects that are then built by SDOT. Projects can be related to art, community, placemaking, sidewalks, crossing lanes, safety, and have a budget of up to $1 million! 

Currently the project prioritization is happening online. You can vote at https://nsf.consider.it. I am excited to see what projects get picked for D7 and the amazing work that will be done in the future! 

Recap of All Home King County, Count Us In 2019

On Friday, Jan. 25, I participated in the All Home​ Count Us In one-night count across King County. I walked with two amazing guides, who shared with me their own stories of homelessness. Special thanks to all the volunteers who took part in the 2 a.m. Count, the All Home staff, the group guides, and to Amazon employees who invited me to join their team.  

Although I have continued to participate in Count Us In every year, the situation to find warm permanent homes is more urgent than ever. I continue to work hard this year to make sure we don't let up on our efforts to provide regional housing solutions, more treatment on demand, help to our neighbors and friends with behavioral and mental health issues, flexible funding for those who need a short-term financial boost, and as much affordable housing as we can get.

For more info of the work of All Home and this year’s Count, check out their website.

Alaskan Way Viaduct Celebration

Last weekend (Feb. 2 and 3) I joined thousands of others to say goodbye to the Highway 99 Viaduct and hello to the new tunnel. This was a huge step forward toward our vision to create a Waterfront for All. This is a project I have worked on for over 15 years and I am thrilled to see the funding and designs for our 20-acre park coming together. Read my speech and thank you’s from Saturday’s ribbon cutting ceremony here. 

I especially enjoyed joining the community arts procession onto the viaduct, organized by the Office of the Waterfront, Office of Arts and Culture, and Friends of the Waterfront Seattle. The ride through the new tunnel and on the Viaduct with Cascade Bicycle Club Sunday with 12,000 friends was also a major highlight the spectacular weekend for me!
 

Age Friendly in D7

I am committed to bringing Age Friendly policies and initiatives to D7, and all of Seattle. Ever since the City launched “Age Friendly Seattle” in March of 2017, we have made progress towards making Seattle more accessible to everyone, of all ages and abilities. There is more work to be done, and in this recent blog, my office shares about the importance of Caregivers, and the challenges they face in Washington State. Please consider reading to learn about how caregiving could affect you, and ways to support yourself and other caregivers for your future needs. 
 

Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan Public Meeting

When: Monday (2/11) from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Catherine Blaine School, 2550 34th Ave W in Magnolia
Website

The draft of the Fort Lawton Redevelopment Plan is now available online, and the Office of Housing will be holding a public meeting next Monday, February 11, 5:30 – 8:30 pm at the Catherine Blaine Middle School. Our region needs more housing in every neighborhood to accommodate the thousands of people who have moved here, especially housing that is affordable for all income levels.  

The vision for this Fort Lawton plan has been over a decade in the making and is designed to create a livable community with supportive housing and affordable rental and homeownership options for families, along with access to open space and parks. We are working with the Seattle School District to assure that 6 acres of Fort Lawton will be preserved for an active sports field.   Fort Lawton will be a place where seniors and veterans live together with individuals and families, including those with children. 

I encourage you to attend the meeting to hear the plan details and ask questions. I look forward to working with you and our Office of Housing to make sure the plan is visionary, while incorporating good community ideas. 

NOTE: The meeting will be cancelled if Seattle Public Schools are closed due to inclement weather, as Catherine Blaine will not be open. Please check the City website for the most up to date information.

All the best,



Sally Bagshaw

Email: Sally.Bagshaw@seattle.gov
Phone: (206) 684-8801
Online: Council Website