03/29/10
Contact the Governor. Support the Housing Trust Fund!
Help Build the Movement for Tenants Rights: Join the Tenants Union!
Washington State tenants have won important legal protections, but these rights don't go far enough. Help build the movement to protect and expand tenants rights and make the promise of safe, healthy, affordable housing a reality: 
The budget stalemate continued into a second week of the special session, with little evidence of progress in negotiations between the House and Senate on final revenue and spending packages.
With no budget agreement in sight as the week begins, we still don’t know the fate of the Housing Trust Fund. As the House and Senate leadership continue to push different combinations of revenue, spending, and investments, many are now looking to the Governor to step in and move the negotiations forward. That means it is a critical time to contact the Governor about the importance of renewing Washington’s investment in the Housing Trust Fund this year.
Please email the Governor by clicking here. Tell her how important affordable housing is for our communities.
You can also call to leave her a message at 1-800-562-6000. Please tell her, “Everyone should have the opportunity to live in a safe, decent and affordable home. Please support a $50 million dollar investment in the Housing Trust Fund.”
Why is the Housing Trust Fund important? The projects lined up for Housing Trust Fund dollars include 150 projects spanning the whole state. For example, Spokane has 10 projects that would produce 775 units of affordable housing, largely for currently homeless individuals, and Yakima has 8 projects that would produce 263 units and 15 shelter beds. 26 separate counties have projects in the pipeline that in total would produce 8,025 homes and 250 shelter beds. In addition, for every dollar secured for the Trust Fund, 4.5 dollars would be spent because of the Trust fund’s role in leveraging local, federal and private funds.