Auburn declares Affordable Housing Week, May 16-22

Published 12:54 pm Thursday, May 5, 2016

For the Reporter

Auburn has joined King County in acknowledging May 16-22 Affordable Housing Week.

The City Council officially accepted the declaration at its Monday meeting. Auburn, the second city in the county to declare, is one of 16 cities to proclaim the special week.

Affordable Housing Week is an effort to raise public awareness of the critical need to preserve and increase affordable housing in communities throughout the county. Auburn is facing an increased crisis in homelessness and affordable housing. The week promotes communities where everyone can thrive with opportunity and live with dignity in safe, healthy and affordable homes

Testifying in support of Affordable Housing Week, Sylvia Fuerstenberg, executive director of Auburn Youth Resources, said, “I am just so impressed with the City of Auburn for the work that it’s doing to fight homelessness and to serve our neighbors and our friends who live in this community who find themselves in challenging situations and without homes ….We are thrilled that Auburn is taking the lead in making this kind of a statement public.”

The 2016 One Night Count found 110 people in Auburn sleeping outdoors without shelter in January of this year, and 26,970 families are considered “housing insecure,” because they are spending more than half of their income on rent and utilities. The Auburn School District identified 260 students as homeless during the 2014-15 school year.

In response Mayor Backus has convened a Homelessness Task Force, due to report back soon on recommended strategies for addressing this dire need. Speaking at the Monday night council meeting, Backus said, “If you count wealth in a community simply by the average median income of the citizens, we are not anywhere close to being the richest. But if you count the wealth of a community that cares and has a big heart, I would rank us close to the top, if not the top.”

Joy Scott, housing planner for the South King Housing & Homelessness Partnership (SKHHP), expressed her support for Auburn’s efforts and for their participation in promoting regional collaboration through SKHHP.

“The need for affordable housing in Auburn is significant, and it will take all of us working together to achieve success,” Scott said. “…I applaud the City of Auburn especially for its recent work with convening the Task Force on Homelessness, and am excited to see the opportunities identified by residents of this community to address homelessness at a local level. I look forward to continuing to partner with you as we work towards safe, healthy, and diverse communities of opportunity for all in South King County.”

The Housing Development Consortium of Seattle-King County (HDC) and 31 other nonprofit, for-profit and public organizations spanning affordable housing, human services, environmental, and education sectors are partnering to spread Affordable Housing Week across King County.

To get involved or find out more, visit: www.housingconsortium.org/affordable-housing-week.