Councilor Lisa Herbold » Blog Archive » SFD Fire Safety Fair and Free Smoke Detectors / New Telemedicine Clinic Finder / Join a District 1 Civic Cafe / Social Worker Wage Penalty / RapidRide H Line Service Begins Saturday, May 18 March / Urban Estuary Restoration at Vigor on Harbor Island / Michigan Encampment Resolution

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SFD Fire Safety Fair and Free Smoke Strobe Alarms

Station 37 is hosting a fire safety fair for residents of Southwest and West Seattle. The event offers families the opportunity to meet local firefighters, explore firefighting equipment such as ladder trucks and fire engines, and even experience firefighter story time with Chief Scoggins.

This free fire safety expo will be held on Saturday, April 1 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Station 37 (7700 35th Ave SW). I encourage District 1 neighbors to participate – I had a wonderful time learning more about SFD activities for myself earlier this year.

The Seattle Fire Department is offering free flash smoke detectors for Seattle residents who are deaf and hard of hearing. These strobe detectors detect smoke and carbon monoxide, but unlike traditional smoke detectors that emit a high-pitched alarm sound, strobe smoke detectors use flashing strobe lights to alert people.

Seattle residents interested in a free smoke/CO flash alarm can contact the Seattle Fire Department by emailing fireinfo@seattle.gov or using this online form.

New telemedicine clinic finder

If you need sexual or reproductive health services, visit the State Department of Health’s new website and tool for telehealth options at Telehealth Services | found Washington State Department of Health and Human Services.

Telemedicine Services Available:

• birth control refills
• Pregnancy Counseling
• emergency contraceptives
• Screening for sexually transmitted infections
• gender-affirming care*
• PrEP for HIV prevention*

*Available in some locations if an individual has previously received the provider’s services.

Join a District 1 Civic Coffee

Bourgeois coffee is a monthly event hosted by Seattle Human Services where older people can meet community leaders and local government officials, ask questions and provide feedback.

• Tuesday, March 21 at 12pm: Security for Seniors
• Neighborhood home High Point Center, 6400 Sylvan Way SW

Panel discussion on proactive tips and steps you can take to improve your personal safety in your neighborhood. Live personal translations in Somali, Oromo and Vietnamese are available! Learn more here.

The pay penalty for human services workers

At Tuesday’s meeting of my Public Safety and Human Services Committee, we were joined by a University of Washington-led team of national and international scholars who presented the findings and recommendations of their in-depth research on the wage penalty faced by anyone working in the United States Area of ​​people works services. Their report, Wage Equity for Non-Profit Human Services Workers: A study of work and pay in Seattle and King County, noted that this is nonprofit HR workers are paid 37% less than comparable workers in other industries.

This research puts hard data behind the alarms our mission-critical nonprofit partners have been sounding since the pandemic began.

• King County quickly bought 10 hotels/apartment buildings to accommodate the homeless – but can’t open half of them due to labor shortages.
• The King County Regional Homeless Authority has repeatedly told us that there are more than 300 vacancies among its five largest contracting organizations.
• In public comment, leaders from non-profit organizations testified that several childcare classrooms – including some for young children – are left empty because they cannot find staff who could work for such low wages.

I can point to several instances in just the last year or two where the Council has allocated funds for essential, much-needed work – such as hiring staff. The study was funded by a Council Budget Action I sponsored during the 2021 Fall Budget Cycle at the request of the Seattle Human Services Coalition. You can view the presentation materials and view the presentation and discussion.

Imposing a 37% pay penalty isn’t easy, but the city — and all other public and private funding partners — must take immediate action to increase wages for these essential workers. I intend to draft a resolution endorsing the study recommendations and outlining the Council’s intention to increase the wages of human service workers by 7% over the next two years. If you are interested in following this work, to receive agendas for upcoming meetings of the Public Safety and Human Services Committee, sign up here: Agenda Sign Up – Council | seattle.gov.

RapidRide H Line service begins Saturday, March 18th

The RapidRide H Line will begin operating on Saturday, March 18, replacing Route 120.

The H line provides additional weekday and weekend services, running every 7 to 15 minutes from 4am to midnight on weekdays and every 15 minutes from 6am to 11pm on weekends.

I spoke this morning at the ribbon-cutting ceremony convened by King County to commemorate the beginning of the service; My comments are below.

“Thank you. This is an important day for the Delridge neighborhoods.

The number of bus drivers along the H line corridor has always been high, as many residents rely on public transport for access to jobs and services. Rapid Ride will serve the Delridge neighborhoods more frequently and reliably.

Route 120 carried 1.7 million drivers in 2022 and is the sixth busiest route in King County. It has been one of the 10 busiest routes in the metro system for several years.

This project is a great example of governments working together to increase Delridge residents’ access to the rest of the region.

The vision for the H-Line project began shortly after the Sound Transit Board’s decision to select the light rail to Alaska Junction; Delridge had been the other option. Equity informed about the decision to continue the H-Line project. Delridge, particularly the southern neighborhoods, has low-income residents and a high BIPOC population.

State subsidies gave the project an early boost.

The county has added bus services to this corridor in recent years, some of which have been funded by the Seattle Transit Measure. In recent years, the City Council has adjusted the criteria for city-funded services to allow for additional services in this corridor.

The H line will connect to the Sound Transit light rail line. Once built, it will connect Delridge residents to the regional rail network. I appreciate the work being done by the Sound Transit Board to consider improvements to Delridge station to ensure fast bus and train services.

Thank you to everyone here for your work on this multi-jurisdictional project and improving transit for residents of the Delridge neighborhoods.”

You can find the RapidRide H Line timetable here.

Urban estuary rehabilitation at Vigor on Harbor Island

This spring, Vigor will complete 2.6 acres of new estuarine habitat on Harbor Island near the mouth of the Duwamish River. They work with Long Live the Kings and the University of Washington Wetland Ecosystem Team.

Here is a video of the progress of this work.

This project is being conducted in collaboration with scientists from Long Live the Kings and UW’s Wetland Ecosystem Team. They conduct pre- and post-recovery monitoring to assess the food sources and habitat use of juvenile salmon in the new habitat.

Estuaries are important habitats for young salmon, especially Chinook, to feed and grow as they begin their life in the ocean. Over 97% of the historic Duwamish Estuary has been lost to development. Vigor chose this project to look for solutions on how industry and salmon can coexist.

Michigan Stock Resolution

Significant progress was made this week in the liquidation of a longstanding camp at SW Michigan and 1st Avenue South. We received this update from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCHRA):

I am pleased to report that KCRHA and our partners at PDA, WSDOT and the City have completed work with individuals at the SW Michigan camp and 1st Avenue Bridge.

To date, 30 people have moved to shelters or emergency shelters. Three people who have a protection match have not been at the scene for several days and their whereabouts are unknown. One person refused services. A person had problems arriving at the specified place of accommodation and this person is not on the program or in the camp.

The site announced yesterday that camping and parking will no longer be permitted on site and an intensive cleanup will begin at the site on Monday.

PDA above refers to “Purpose, Dignity, Action”. She design and implement new approaches to real-world problems that have historically been addressed with enforcement, prosecution and punishment, but are more responsive to the coordination and mentoring strategies their programs offer. PDA is the project manager for successful, impactful programs like LEAD, Co-LEAD and JustCARE.

You can read more about this effort: Homeless camp in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood to be removed | KOMO (komonews.com).

Posted: 17 March 2023 under Councilor Herbold