King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA)

Exclusive King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) says “I’m not familiar with the situation you’re talking about,” after I asked him why landlords were being turned away from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (@kingcorha) highly touted incentive program to get people off the streets. It’s a story KVI Radio’s Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) and I broke earlier this week. Either Constantine was giving me spin today, or his media handler Chase Gallagher did not brief him on the situation. Constantine is on the KCRHA Governing Committee, responsible for oversight and approving budgets. Either way, Constantine went on to say he believes they should be working with more landlords in the private sector and gave a vote of confidence to KCRHA. Read More ›

Homeless advocates, politicians, and leaders at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) continue to say that “housing saves lives” and affordable housing is the solution to homelessness. King County Executive Dow Constantine has said that “we must make it affordable for everyone here,” and KCRHA interim CEO Helen Howell wants “every person [to] have a roof over their head.” This is why KCRHA launched a landlord incentive program in 2022 that promised housing providers an attractive package in “an effort to end homelessness.” The incentive program offered landlords on-time payment backed by KCRHA and tenant conflict resolution in exchange for rental units for the homeless. Funding for “Partnership for Zero,” a publicly and privately funded program, would offset the Read More ›

Political Liability? As the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) figures out it’s identity and role after a tumultuous year, KIRO Newsradio politics reporter Matt Markovich (@mattmarkovich) is offering some tremendous insight into the agency. Markovich has followed KCRHA since it’s inception. There may be no other reporter in this region who knows the inner workings better than this 30 plus year news veteran. Here’s his hot take on why it was formed and how former #Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (@jennydurkan, @MayorJenny) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) essentially wanted “deniability” when it came to addressing the region’s homeless crisis. And according to Markovich, there’s been on-going tension between former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones and current #Seattle Mayor Bruce Read More ›

KCRHA Absolutely Crushed In a scathing Op-ed, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) destroys Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) saying, “there are foundational issues that make the KCRHA doomed to fail and unfit to be trusted.” Click here to read the Seattle Times article. In Case You Missed It The King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (@KingCoRHA) 5-Year Plan has been approved. Vote happened Thursday afternoon. The Governing Committee is made up of elected officials like Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec.) Despite calls to dismantle KCRHA after the abrupt resignation of former CEO Marc Dones last month, they are still moving forward. It’s now on them. This agency is responsible for the bulk of homeless Read More ›

Political Liability Over the weekend, I caught up exclusively with #Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@mayorofseattle) and Deputy Mayor Tiffany Washington to discuss the recent controversies swirling around the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA.) 1) KCRHA Continuum of Care Board Chair Shanee Colston’s defiance and refusal to resign after her public outburst defending a convicted pedophile. 2) Former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones’ abrupt resignation, leaving the agency in an uncertain situation. Distancing Themselves @KingCoRHA clearly doesn’t want want to have anything to do with this hot mess created by Colston. If she refuses to resign, is anyone going to step up and remove her? I’m still trying to figure out if this can even be done. Global Attention This story Read More ›

Follow the Money According to a 2022 document from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) the agency dished out a staggering $107, 396, 057.97 to providers. Look at all the non-profits and players in this industry. Stunning amount of money being spent to address the region’s homeless crisis. It’s broken down by agency name and project. So much to unpack. I encourage all journalists in #Seattle and #KingCounty to start picking this apart. According to a recent KCRHA call, homeless service providers also complained about late payments being an issue this year and last year as well. Post Mortem Check out this tweet showing records of KCRHA staff salaries. 30 of the 100 employees made at least $100,000.

Post Mortem Even before Marc Dones abruptly resigned on Tuesday as CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA), the agency was under heavy scrutiny for it’s performance or lack thereof. Questions were being raised about spending and salaries, especially after Dones asked for $12 billion dollars to fund housing in the region. As Helen Howell becomes interim CEO, the KCRHA Governing Committee and other boards have a lot of soul searching to do. Do they stay the course and stick to the framework left by Dones, or is it time for a total gut rehab? Clearly, the “HOUSING FIRST” strategy is not working. The public is asking for more transparency and accountability, like actual measures of success and Read More ›

Crisis Management Time The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) just dropped this slick promo video featuring embattled CEO Marc Dones who rarely takes questions from the media. This comes at a time when his agency is being accused of incompetence and mismanagement. Dones is dealing with complaints from service providers about late payments, elected officials continue to scoff at his $12 billion dollar homelessnesss plan, and there have been numerous communication missteps this past year. Remember when Dones incorrectly cited state law and insisted no one could be removed from encampments unless a “permanent housing solution” was offered? Even Gov. Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) had to correct Dones. And King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) still wants KCRHA to be Read More ›

(The Center Square) – The One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan’s first count of 2023 reveals the verified homeless tent count is down 42% from the end of last year. The latest count conducted in March by the city found 414 tents within the city limits. That is down from 712 counted in December 2022. The SODO District had the most tents and RVs counted with 158 combined. The city attributes the drop in tent numbers to its recently-launched Unified Care Team, alongside its partnership with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. According to the city, its Unified Care Team facilitated 1,831 referrals to shelters and tiny house villages last year, with the help of the authority and 30 outreach providers.  The city Read More ›

Exclusive Late Saturday night, a massive inferno engulfed multiple tents inside the unsanctioned SODO homeless encampment near the Salvation Army shelter at 6th Ave & Airport Way S. This is the site of Dow Constantine’s (@kcexec) failed HOMELESS MEGAPLEX. He tried to ram the project through last year without consulting the surrounding #Chinatown-ID neighbors, but the community fought back and won. But the land is still being leased by King County and the illegal encampment continues to be a blight and danger to the community. What a drain on the good men and women of @SeattleFire. Another encampment fire in District 2 and no sign of MIA Councilmember Morales( @CMTammyMorales.) Where is Marc Dones and the @KC_RHA outreach? #Seattle @MayorofSeattle Read More ›