Greater than 100 individuals gathered Friday morning in entrance of the Henry M. Jackson Federal Constructing in downtown Seattle to protest potential cuts to the U.S. Division of Housing and City Growth.
Since President Donald Trump entered workplace, the Division of Authorities Effectivity led by billionaire Elon Musk has been slashing swaths of federal funding and staff. Many at Friday’s gathering have been involved concerning the severity of potential cuts to the division that funds nearly all of low-income housing and homelessness applications within the nation.
Considered one of them, Ashley Kenny, who works in household homeless companies, held an indication that learn “Fingers off HUD.”
“Something lower than the HUD we have now now’s going to go away hundreds of thousands of youngsters outdoors, and that breaks my coronary heart,” Kenny mentioned.
HUD offers cash to subsidize housing for tens of hundreds of individuals in King County. The division additionally offers about $67 million for homelessness companies in King County. The Regional Homelessness Authority mentioned it isn’t experiencing any issues receiving federal funds. Nonetheless, rumors and inner memos are circling amongst HUD workers that counsel massive cuts are coming, together with the closing of the division’s Seattle workplace, which has sparked anxiousness among the many employees there.
“We’re right here to say, ‘No, maintain our HUD places of work open, launch our funds and allow us to do the work of housing our group,’ ” mentioned Alison Eisinger, government director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, a speaker on the gathering.
Troy Christensen, government director of Porchlight, a homeless companies group in Bellevue, mentioned to the gang that cuts to HUD might improve homelessness at a large scale.
“This process was tough sufficient earlier than,” Christensen mentioned. “To compound it in the way in which that they’re suggesting is unacceptable.”
A coalition referred to as Federal Constructing Fridays has met downtown each week since President Trump’s inauguration to protest the DOGE cuts and to assist federal staff. Every week, the group has protested cuts to totally different companies and departments, together with Social Safety, Medicaid and Veterans Affairs.
“Nearly all of individuals assist public colleges, nearly all of individuals assist Social Safety, nearly all of individuals assist well being care. Nearly all of individuals assist housing,” mentioned Beth Brunton, one of many organizers of the weekly occasion. “I do know Republicans and Democrats disagree, however that is, like, excessive.”
