NUHSA continues to be a trusted leader in North King County (NKC), convening stakeholders, building trusted relationships and advocating for a collaborative approach in responding to our most pressing human services needs.

When NUHSA was founded in 2009, the prevailing perception was that NKC may not have the same needs and challenges as elsewhere in the county and therefore perhaps didn’t have the same need for local or regional funding support. We’ve come a long way since then, and NUHSA, on behalf of its north-end members and providers, has effectively advocated for the recognition, funding and engagement our north-end communities deserve. 

Over the past year, NUHSA has developed an ambitious strategic plan to prioritize collaboration, education and advocacy to achieve goals addressing issues of affordable housing and homelessness, behavioral health, Seniors and human services support, and Volunteer needs and management. Great strides have been made to establish a human services focus, along with funding support and dedicated staff, in our north-end communities. In 2024 both Bothell and Kenmore completed Human Services needs assessment to better understand the needs and resource landscape of their cities.

Furthermore, NUHSA has expanded its membership; grown the Board of Directors to include representatives from all of the NKC cities; increased its communication; and engaged with members, partners and governments across NKC in a variety of ways. We have become a key resource for decision makers on the landscape and needs in NKC and are a trusted partner in bringing people together in ways formal and informal that leverage information and resources to best serve the community.    

Accomplishments include the following:

Advocacy

NUHSA has advocated on a wide range of legislative, policy and programmatic issues, both locally and regionally: 

• Successfully advocated to King County and the Regional Policy Committee for increased geographic equity and funding support in the VSHSL implementation plan.
  
  
• Advocated for inflation-adjusted city and country contracts and promoted wage equity as a critical measure to retain human services staff, helping to successfully secure cost of living adjustments for service providers in the King County budget. 
  
  
• Provided ongoing communication with city leadership to promote an increased focus on human services funding. Members attended city council meetings and provided public comments as cities debated proposed budgets and amendments. All NKC cities committed to sustained or increased human services for 2025-2026 budgets, including funding for new Mental Health resources for Shoreline low-income seniors.
  
  
• Supported the newly formed Regional Crisis Response Agency (RCR) that will provide a community mobile crisis response service across all of North King County, enhancing public health, safety, and emergency response services, including crisis response awareness, support, and resource referral for community members experiencing behavioral health issues across the five-city region. 
  
  
• Advocated for NKC priorities, such as a sub-regional coordinator and implementation of a severe weather shelter system, to King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) as they developed their five-year plan to end homelessness. 
  
  
• Chaired the Veterans, Seniors & Human Services Levy Advisory Board and monitored the distribution of grant funding to serve our most vulnerable populations. 
  
  
• Served on the Health through Housing Advisory Board to advise on current and future initiatives providing supportive housing for those experiencing or at risk for chronic homelessness.   
  
  
• Participated in Fircrest Campus Stakeholders Planning Meetings hosted by Rep. Cindy Ryu to reimagine and redevelop Fircrest to include affordable housing and space for nonprofits.   
  
  
• Advocated for support of The Oaks, the only 24/7 emergency shelter in North King County that provides case management and services for homeless individuals. 

• Advocated for the creation and funding of the Kenmore Senior Women’s Shelter.

• Partnered with the City of Kenmore and neighboring jurisdictions to advocate with the UTC for critical improvements in the way low-income energy discount programs are administered through PSE.

• Advocated for the prioritization and centralization of the Youth Behavioral Health facility as part of the Crisis Care Levy Citing Process. 

• Served on the Network Partner Work Group to build a unified information exchange network in King County and partnered with HealthierHere, and other community organizations to design shared standards, practices and tools to support care coordination and improve health wellness in our region.  
  
  
• Partnered with Housing Development Consortium, WA Low-income Housing Alliance, Tenants Riders Union, Solid Ground, ARCH and others to advocate for many important priorities related to eviction prevention, tenant support, and affordable housing during at the local city and state level throughout the year.
  
  

Housing & Shelter

NUHSA has advanced a shelter and housing development agenda in NKC and helped facilitate a deeper engagement in affordable housing strategies and related coordinated and coalition-based activities among our five cities:

• Partnered with the North King County cities of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville as well as KCRHA and St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church to host the North King County Severe Weather Shelter.
  
  
• Supported the successful passage of strong tenant protections in Woodinville, and advocated for eviction prevention measures that are currently under consideration in Bothell. 
  
  
• Participated in the Stay Housed Stay Healthy Coalition and the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance to lend support for regional and statewide tenant protection efforts. 

• As co-founder of the NKC Coalition on Homelessness, helped facilitate a regional approach in developing strategies for our unhoused neighbors, leveraging information and resources across sectors and jurisdictions in support of policies and community-based efforts to provide shelter and/or permanent housing options for those experiencing homelessness.
  
  
• Celebrated that all five of our north-end cities are the first outside of Seattle to enter into Interlocal Agreements (ILAs) with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) and successfully released an RFP to establish a NKC severe weather shelter for the 2023-24 winter season.
  
  
• Championed Camp United We Stand, NKC’s only authorized encampment, along with the Bothell Urban project, a proposed multi-use affordable housing development, and Bothell United Methodist Church’s Safe Parking model.
  
  
• Partnered with the Housing Development Consortium to host an Affordable Housing 101 Lunch and Learn to examine the state of housing in North King County to help educate community members on what is affordable housing and what the landscape looks like in North King County.

• Created a comprehensive glossary of relevant affordable housing concepts and terms which was distributed free to city partners and community members available here.

• Endorsed and supported various city efforts to implement Transit Oriented Development and community services levies, along with proclamations in support of Suicide Prevention Week and Hunger & Homelessness Week.     
  
  

Partnerships

• Our board and membership have expanded, bringing significant geographic diversity and perspective to our work. In 2023, all five NKC cities became dues-paying members and Shoreline joined Lake Forest Park in appointing a city council liaison to serve on our Board of Directors. Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville are currently in discussion to appoint liaisons.     
  
  
• Initiated and convened a regular meeting of homelessness outreach leads from all five cities to share and leverage information and resources to better serve unhoused neighbors across the region. 
  
  
• Served as a key partner for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA), elevating NKC priorities and providing connection for supporting our unhoused neighbors.   
  
  
• Actively participated in the Shoreline Community Court as Court Navigator volunteers and supported the adoption of the community court model in Kenmore and Bothell. 
  
  
• Joined Best Starts for Kids Community Planning.
  
  
• Partnered and collaborated through participation on the King County Alliance for Human Services; Sub-Regional Human Services Collaboration; Seattle-King County Continuum of Care; Northshore Nourishing Networks; North King County Mobility Coalition; and Bothell Kenmore Chamber of Commerce.  
  
  
• NUHSA held informational meetings with, among others, Dale Turner YMCA, Healthcare for the Homeless Network, Kindering, Vision House, NAMI Eastside, Youth Care, Northshore School District Family Engagement Center, Manos Unidas, Community Loaves, The Root of US, CHS, Shoreline Community College and New Beginnings – and welcomed and provided an orientation for incoming NKC human services leaders and staff in Bothell, Kenmore and Woodinville.

Speakers/Presentations

NUHSA hosted monthly speakers and meeting discussions that reflected current issues and member needs. We identified gaps and leveraged resources to better connect and serve our community. Monthly meetings provided:

• A focus on NKC human services current and emerging needs.
• An opportunity for members and partners to share announcements and updates.
• Multiple opportunities for cities to share priorities and funding priorities. As cities made decisions around utilization of funding, NUHSA advocated for investments in human services organizational capacity and infrastructure. 

Presentations included:

• Nathan Phillips, Executive Director; Northshore Senior Center and Dinah Stephen, Age-Friendly Seattle Program Manager on Age-Friendly Communities
• Kristina Brown and Veronica Mega from Kindering and Carolina Liendo, Senior Manager of Programs at Kidvantage, and Edie Myers-Power, Program Manager, NAMI-Eastside on Early Childhood Development and Mental Health
• Tamara Piwen, Center for Human Services, Shelby Weitzel, Casey Family Programs, and Barb Taylor, King County Kinship Collaboration, Catholic Community Services on Foster Care & Kinship Programs in North King County
• Porscha Anderson, Director of Housing & Support Services; Friends of Youth, Christina Campos, Director of Youth & Family Services at Friends of Youth, Laurie Colacurcio, Program Manager at Lambert House, and Tsega Amare & Andrew Donnelly, Host Homes Recruiters from the Y Social Impact Center on Youth Supportive Services
• Rep. Lauren Davis, 32^nd District & Rep. Davina Duerr, 1^st District presented a debrief of the 2024 Legislative Session
• Rekha Ravindran & Denise Hawthorne from Healthcare for the Homeless Network (HCHN)

• Srinivas Khedam, Assistant Director Northshore School Districts Family Engagement Center, and Susie Moore, Lead Family Engagement Specialist from Shoreline School District
• King County Metro Flex, Hopelink Mobility, and Snohomish County Transportation Coalition
• Christopher Lovings from the Department of Commerce and Mary Dodsworth on Navigating Grants and Other Opportunities
• State Rep. Lauren Davis and Arra Rael and Cathy Assata from CHS on Opioid use trends, upcoming legislation, and local substance use disorder treatments.
  
  

Events

• Affordable Housing Week (May)
  Partnered with Housing Development Consortium to advocate for Affordable Housing Week and received proclamations supporting increased affordable housing from the cities of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville.  Affordable Housing 101 Lunch and Learn event was attended by more than 90 residents and community leaders.
  
  
• Volunteer Management Fireside Chat (Oct)
  Hosted a Fireside Chat to discuss volunteer management best practices to support our human services providers in developing robust volunteer programs. A direct response to the needs of our member service providers.
  
  
• Overview of Washington State 5-year Strategic Plan for Housing the Homeless (Nov.)
  In collaboration with the Department of Commerce, offered an overview and Q & A session for the newly released WA 5-year strategic plan for Housing the Homeless.

• Opioid Trends and Treatments Town Hall (Originally scheduled for Nov, but delayed to Jan due to Weather)
  Representative Lauren Davis shared information about Opioids in Washington State and Arra Rael and Cathy Assata part of the SUD Treatment Team at CHS discussed substance use treatment options and Opioid use trends in North King County.

• 2024 Human Services Awards (Jan.)
  Honored those who have made a significant contribution to the health and welfare of our community by advocating for human services and strengthening our community through their initiative and leadership.  A full list of recipients and select nominees are available here.

NUHSA is invested in supporting our community and ensuring that all North King County residents have access to a strong and accessible health and human services system.

Join us!