On Wednesday, Governor Inslee released his Proposed 2023-25 Budget plan. In his budget, he focuses on the immediate crises of housing and homelessness, behavioral health, and climate change. While we wholeheartedly agree that these are worthy investments, we were also disappointed by the missed opportunity to meet our state’s long term goals of reducing poverty and supporting our communities in meeting their basic needs.
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While the Governor prioritized addressing homelessness, we were disheartened that the budget did not make the connection between homelessness and our frayed safety net. We know – and have heard your experiences with this! – that failing to make investments and progress in programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) also means failing to address family homelessness in more profound ways. And we know that longstanding racism and sexism mean that access to TANF and other safety net programs is hardest for Black and brown families.
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This year, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) requested several pieces of legislation and budget investments to help our most economically marginalized community members better meet their basic needs. Out of their nine proposals, just one and a half were included in this budget proposal. As a state, we can do better. |
Washington state has a 10 Year Plan to Dismantle Poverty, with a goal of cutting poverty in half while also working to address the ways racism often deepens poverty for people of color. Achieving this goal requires that we reject the false choice of mitigating a current crisis and planning for a poverty-free future.
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