Dear colleagues:

For those of you who regularly attend our weekly Friday morning  9am-11am ZOOM meetings, you have heard about the upcoming candidate forum tomorrow, October 18, from 9:15 – 10:30.   We are reminding everyone to come with ideas about specific actions our political representatives could take to end homelessness in Pierce County.

We have nineteen candidates confirmed for the forum, with at least one candidate from each of the Legislative districts in Pierce County, and at least one candidate for each of the contested positions for Pierce County Council and the County Executive.

The plan for this event includes:

1.        Coalition members will share their policy/action recommendations with candidates in a facilitated small group discussion.

2.        Candidates will listen to these recommendations and, following the small group discussion, offer a brief response to what they heard from us—what they learned, need more information about, or how this might inform their current perspective.

This is not a time to question candidates about their positions or intentions, or for candidates to engage in conversation about their differences.   We invite all who seek to represent us to listen and then to share what they have heard.  We hope that this brief interaction will be a catalyst for ongoing collaborations.

Consider preparing for the conversation by checking out the newly -published 2024-2029 State of Washington Homeless Housing Strategic Plan drafted by the WA State Department of Commerce.  It’s a long document, but you’ll find useful summaries and ideas.   Link to document at https://deptofcommerce.app.box.com/s/tl07c32p6j2w33ojxp3l9pn6s6fo58dg.

I hope to see you at the meeting tomorrow!