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We had a great turnout of about 150 at the Eastern Washington Legislative Conference last weekend. We are grateful for our many partners who co-sponsored the event, and for Spokane Valley United Methodist Church who hosted! Week Three in Review Monday: Paul testified on a Vulnerable Adults bill (SB 6287 Pedersen) with our partners at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in the Senate Law & Justice Committee. This bill will prevent abuse of vulnerable adults by strengthening the state guardianship program and expanding the rights of those covered by the program. Tuesday: Rep. Morgan, a member of the House Black [...]

Signup today to receive our weekly E-News and alerts. Getting Ready for the WA Legislative Session Monday, January 13 is the first day of the 2020 legislature, and your voice and presence will be needed throughout the 60-day session. Last month, the governor released his supplemental budget where the main focus was reducing homelessness by using money from our state's Rainy Day fund, requiring a two-thirds vote from each chamber. FAN supports the use of the emergency fund given the grave emergency of our state's housing and homelessness issue. We also support appropriating $10M for the Housing Trust Fund in our [...]

Climate change is an ever-pressing issue for today and is a top concern for FAN’s network. This week, we encourage you to take action on one of these three opportunities to heal our physical world: Advocate: The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is working on a Clean Fuel Standard to address the issue of pollution caused by transportation, which is the largest source of climate pollution in Washington state. This proposal would reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels by 25% by 2030 by setting a limit on greenhouse gas emissions. You can take action by signing the Washington Environmental Council’s letter to [...]

As you may have heard, two reports of immigration enforcement-related activities were reported at the end of November by programs serving people experiencing homelessness. A social worker at the family shelter hosted by Redmond United Methodist Church reported a suspicious woman who posed as someone seeking shelter, proceeded to ask detailed questions about the space, and attempted to interview other families about a family she was seeking. She was seen hours later talking with someone in a Customs and Border Patrol vehicle. This woman then appeared at the New Bethlehem Day Center for homeless families the next day. For more [...]

The Coalition on Human Needs is calling for action to urge Sen. Cantwell to support expanding the Earned-Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit.  These programs help working families and individuals provide for basic needs, lifting 8.9 million people out of poverty in 2018. Sen. Cantwell is supporting a major tax credit for developers to create affordable housing, but she is stopping there in her support of low income people. Call Sen. Cantwell’s DC office at 206-224-3441 between now and Monday, October 21 with this message: “Any tax package that passes this year must include an expansion of the Earned [...]

As a seemingly nonstop flurry of federal rule changes are proposed by the Trump administration, we are thankful for small successes and call for continued action to protect our neighbors. We were excited to hear last week that in a multi-state battle against Public Charge, a federal judge in Spokane issued a nation-wide injunction to block this policy from taking effect on October 15 while the cases continue. Thank you to all who commented on and spread the word about this unjust policy that targets the well-being of immigrant families. Other rule changes are still accepting comments – take action today to stop [...]