MAIN PRESENTATION: New Incentives for Faith-based Affordable Housing, presented by Scott Guter, Senior Planner, City of Kirkland, Planning and Building Development<\/strong>. Slides available here<\/a>.\u00a0Scott shared information on what the City of Kirkland is doing to help enable faith-based organizations to develop affordable housing on their properties. Housing in Kirkland has become increasingly unaffordable, and many residents are struggling to find and keep homes within their budget.<\/p>\n SPOTLIGHT: Eastside Renter\u2019s Bill of Rights, presented by Kraig Peck of the Transit Riders Union<\/strong>. Kraig is a Woodinville resident active in the Transit Riders Union, WA Housing Alliance, & 45th<\/sup>\u00a0Democrats. He asked for support for the Redmond Renters Bill of Rights, which is summarized here<\/a>. \u00a0Renters on the Eastside have little stability or fairness. Kraig argued that passing this Bill of Rights in Redmond (nearly 2 \/3 renter households) would be the first step to other Eastside cities.<\/p>\n Full minutes of the July meeting are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n PRESENTATION: A brief history of EISCC. <\/strong>Diane Richards, EISCC Historian, has been combing the archives for stories of our early years as a network and nearly two decades at St. Margaret\u2019s.<\/p>\n PRESENTATION: Summer Needs of Immigrant Families. <\/strong>Alicia Spinner, The Circle<\/a>: Community Navigation. The Circle provides a safe space where individuals and families are empowered to gain knowledge, celebrate their cultures, and engage with their communities. The Circle welcomes individuals and families new to the country, as well as those who are already established in the community. Collaboratively, the Circle shares resources and services, walk-along or referral, and guidance through processes. They help with rental assistance, counseling, insurance, tax preparation, legal services, domestic violence, and senior aid, among others, with emergency help when necessary.<\/p>\n Full minutes of the June meeting are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n SPOTLIGHT: Mobile Crisis Response. <\/strong>Maxine Anderson, Manager of King County’s Mobile Rapid Response Crisis Team MRRCT<\/a>, introduceD the work of the team, now based out of the Together Center in Redmond. MRRCT provides an immediate, compassionate, and trauma-informed alternative to law enforcement for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. These teams, composed of highly trained mental health professionals and peer specialists, are available 24\/7 to respond to community needs with de-escalation techniques tailored to each situation.<\/p>\n MAIN PRESENTATION TOPIC: Food Insecurity on the Eastside. <\/strong>Kristen Muscott, founder\/coordinator of Open Kitchen Redmond<\/a> shared how this community meal program was started and runs. She also briefly described the Redmond School Break Food Box Program<\/a>.\u00a0 Both are examples of the ways volunteers can address rising needs of the community.<\/p>\n Full minutes of the May meeting are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n SPOTLIGHT: <\/strong>George Ramirez, Ballard Community Taskforce on Homelessness and Hunger<\/a>, \u201cChanging the Narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n MAIN PRESENTATION TOPIC: Housing 101. <\/strong>Presentation from Jesse Simpson and Brady Nordstrom of the Housing Development Consortium<\/a> of Seattle-King County and Jazmine Smith of Futurewise<\/a>. Slides available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Full minutes of the April 2026 meeting are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n MAIN PRESENTATION: Permanent Supportive Housing. <\/strong>Ciarra Madden and Sarah Dickmeyer, Plymouth Housing<\/a>. Plymouth Housing started in the 1970s as a volunteer effort from Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle, to address the needs of homeless people on their doorstep. By 1980, it became a separate nonprofit organization, to serve formerly homeless adults who need comprehensive support to maintain housing stability.<\/p>\n SPOTLIGHT: One Parish One Prisoner. <\/strong>Candice Baughman and Austin Rehbein of Underground Ministries<\/a> made the case for participation of faith communities in the One Parish One Prisoner program (OPOC). The program facilitates, trains, and supports teams of seven or so people in a faith community to get to know an incarcerated person who is close to release and to support them on re-entry through friendship. The program is about relationships, not resources.<\/p>\n Full minutes of the March 2026 meeting are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n PRESENTATION: <\/strong>Old Friends Club<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>Bob Delf, Executive Director, presented the OFC model of dementia care, offering group activities for dementia patients, providing essential support to over 130 families. To bridge the gap in dementia care, OFC offers a free toolkit and expansion plan to help organizations launch community-leg OFC social respite programs, designed to support both individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. See Bob’s slides here<\/a>.<\/p>\n PRESENTATION: <\/strong>Safe Haven<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong>Guillermos Rivera, Community Organizer with Eastside for All, presented the work of the Safe Haven group of Eastside immigrant and refugee providers, advocates, and supporters. In collaboration with RISE<\/a>, the group offers an Eastside hotline to report ICE activity (425-361-0808) and a downloadable packet<\/a> of resources and opportunities to increase community safety. RISE is actively looking for people with time, skills, resources, and influence, who want to be ready when their community needs them.<\/p>\n Full minutes of the February 2026 meeting are here.<\/a><\/p>\n SPOTLIGHT: <\/strong>Star Lalario, Executive Director, shared the work of the House of Hope<\/a> in Issaquah. Their mission is to provide a safe, family-centered home for at-risk mothers and children fleeing crisis situations like poverty, domestic violence, and trafficking. They offer the resources, support, and structured environment they need to regain stability, build self-esteem, and develop the skills necessary to become self-reliant.<\/p>\n MAIN PRESENTATION<\/strong>: The Church Council of Greater Seattle<\/a>,<\/u>\u00a0Jewish Coalition for Immigrant Justice<\/a>, and CAIR-WA<\/a> shared about the current work in the Washington for All! coalition. Our multifaith coalition believes that this is a moment to be firm on the values our religious traditions share \u2013 to welcome the stranger, to care for our neighbor, and to treat others with dignity. \u201cWe know that we are safer and stronger when we stand together.\u201d \u00a0Washington for All! is a coalition of migrant advocacy and legal organizations, labor, faith communities, and those advocating for democracy, coming together to protect migrant communities. The Church Council, Jewish Coalition and CAIR, along with Faith Action Network, and Intercommunity Peace & Justice Center make up the King County representation of the multifaith spoke of the Washington for All! coalition.<\/p>\n Full minutes for January 2026 are here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" July 2026 MAIN PRESENTATION: New Incentives for Faith-based Affordable Housing, presented by Scott Guter, Senior Planner, City of Kirkland, Planning and Building Development. Slides available here.\u00a0Scott shared information on what the City of Kirkland is doing to help enable faith-based organizations to develop affordable housing on their properties. Housing in Kirkland has become increasingly unaffordable, … Continue reading 2026<\/span> June 2026<\/h4>\n
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