The Seattle Times political team explores national, state and local politics.
SubscribeMarch 18, 2013 at 1:05 PM
Seattle asks Legislature for human-services funding
A coalition of downtown Seattle business leaders and social service providers asked the state Legislature today to provide funding for housing and health services for the poor to address problems of chronic disorder and public safety on downtown streets.
The coalition called on the Legislature to implement the Affordable Care Act with full Medicaid expansion, preserve funding for mental-health and substance-abuse treatment programs and invest $175 million over the next two years in the Housing Trust Fund to increase affordable housing.
“The lingering effects of the economic recession have compounded with recent cuts in funding for treatment services, resulting in severe challenges in our downtown core and in many other cities across our state. Without stable housing and medical care, we have seen too many people become a danger to themselves and a threat to public safety,” said a letter sent to the Legislature by Mayor Mike McGinn and members of a group working on a Center City initiative to address street crime and vagrancy.
Comments | More in Politics Northwest, Seattle mayor | Topics: City of Seattle, downtown street crime, Mayor Mike McGinn
About this blog
How would you balance the state budget and fund education?
Cut spending? Increase taxes? Some of each? Here’s your chance to take a swing at balancing the state budget. We’ve created an interactive budget game that lets you pick from dozens of potential budget cuts and tax increases to balance the budget and find more money for education. Try it now.
Trending with readers
On Facebook
Recent Activity
Multimedia
Google+
