Island groups get $60k+ in county budget update

IFCH, Vashon HouseHold and Comunidad were among the grant winners.

By Alex Bruell • August 6, 2024 1:30 am
King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (left) holds a big novelty check with the Vashon Interfaith Council to End Homelessness’ Hilary Emmer, outside the Chamber of Commerce, on July 31. (Alex Bruell photo)
King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda (left) holds a big novelty check with the Vashon Interfaith Council to End Homelessness’ Hilary Emmer, outside the Chamber of Commerce, on July 31. (Alex Bruell photo)

Island organizations will receive more than $60,000 in funding awards from the county’s recently-passed supplemental budget.

The money comes from discretionary funding that King County Council Members — in this case, District 8 (Vashon and West Seattle) councilmember Teresa Mosqueda — can award from the July 16 passage of the third omnibus county budget.

At Vashon HouseHold (VHH), a $10,000 grant will support the work of Rachael Hetrick, the agency’s new program coordinator who will manage the Vashon HomeShare program and be the property manager and service coordinator at the upcoming Island Center Homes.

HomeShare connects people with space in their homes with those willing to help out around the house in exchange for cheaper rent. Hetrick will review applications, match people and be the mediator in case there are any conflicts in the home.

Former Vashon HouseHold manager Osha Christianson is leaving the island to pursue a new job. VHH Executive Director Jason Johnson thanked Christianson, “who started the program (HomeShare) up from nothing,” for her work: “We’ll miss her for sure. … She was the perfect person to start this program.”

The Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness (IFCH) received $10,000 to assist with pumping out waste from RVs, a program that former IFCH president (and current care team lead) Hilary Emmer began early on in the COVID-19 pandemic after seeing similar efforts in Seattle. Her efforts help people who are working or receiving medical care — while living and paying rent where they are — keep living on Vashon, Emmer said.

Through a combination of grant funding, bill-footing by King County Local Services and her own pocketbook, Emmer has kept the program going for the last few years. For the first seven months of this year, IFCH has footed the bill, Emmer said.

“King County giveth, and King County taketh away,” she said.

This time, the county giveth: The $10,000 grant should last the program about a year, and about $12,000 per year would be ideal, according to Emmer. The program currently serves about three people on the island and pumps out their vehicles every four weeks or so.

Emmer wants the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, an agency tasked with reducing homelessness in the region, to help pay for her efforts. Mosqueda concurred with the idea of growing a relationship with KCRHA and said that, in the meantime, this grant is a stopgap to keep a “critical service” for Vashon alive.

”If they don’t have pump out services there they would probably have to move to find a place where there are services,” Mosqueda said. “More people are facing intimidation or feeling unsafe if they’re not welcomed on certain streets. … We want to make sure that if there’s a property owner who has welcomed them … that we help facilitate them staying there. … It’s really a relatively low dollar amount for having such a big impact to allow for people to live in dignity.”

The greatest recipient was Vashon’s We are Comunidad, earning a total of $25,000 for their work on the island with Vashon’s Latina/Latino community.

In addition to those recipients, Mosqueda advocated for and secured $500,000 for rental assistance and foreclosure prevention programs in the budget, and $200,000 for a labor-led worker program when Seattle hosts the World Cup in 2026. The budget also includes $28.5 million in capital investments to remove blockages to fish passage habitat and up to $30 million to fund operations, maintenance, and services for existing and new supportive housing sites.

Mosqueda said she picked grant recipients by considering equity, housing, worker support and investments into economic stability and climate justice.

The full list of Vashon’s grant recipients are:

“Get Active Stay Active” Grants

We are Comunidad: $15,000

Vashon Island Rowing Club: $8,500

Housing Stability Grants

We are Comunidad: $10,000

Vashon Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness: $10,000

Vashon HouseHold: $10,000

St. Vincent De Paul: $2,444

Community Service Grants

Voice of Vashon: $2,000

Vashon Senior Center: $3,000

Vashon Artist Residency: $1,900