As one example, during the first big peak in Covid infections last May, I was hard at work promoting an idea I called “Whatcom ReStart,” which would be direct and simple grants to local businesses so they could adjust their practices and keep people working. People listened. By the end of the summer, the City of Bellingham, Whatcom County, the Port of Bellingham, and some of the smaller cities had pooled over $3.5 million in CARES Act money to make Whatcom ReStart a reality.

In addition, we realized that childcare, which was already in a precarious state, was in even greater need and greater jeopardy due to the economic shutdown. To help keep qualified childcare available, we committed $1 million of the aid to a dozen operators, all of which kept their doors open so parents could go to work.

When I started on the council, the annual budget was around $2 million/yr for housing support and human services. And that was mostly federal block grants, not local money. Through steady advocacy, this years’ housing and services budget is $22 million, of which over $9 million is permanent annual funding I helped to create.

I went door-to-door ensure the successful vote for the Bellingham Home Fund, and its recent renewal. I personally initiated grant offers and budget changes for transitional housing programs, and led the way to take advantage of new state funding options, one of which added a $3 million/yr increase that started this June. During the last budget cycle, I initiated $1.5 million in budget amendments for greater services for families and children facing homelessness, and for new “first rung” housing projects.

With my vote, we created the Homeless Outreach Team, we changed municipal code to allow for supervised encampments, we have donated land to nonprofits for new shelters, and awarded grants to other agencies for trauma-informed programs that meet specific needs for family housing, for youth shelters, for farmworker housing, and for senior housing—to prevent homelessness before it happens.