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This week, the City of Seattle, our partners and I were all proud to announce that one-time direct cash assistance is available to Seattle families, young people, and artists. We launched a $16 million Seattle Relief Fund to help low-income residents who were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the first U.S. city to be significantly impacted by COVID-19, Seattle has been a leader to rise to address both the public health and economic challenges of this pandemic. We were the first city to quickly respond to directly support our residents and small businesses with grants, innovative new programs like grocery vouchers and rental assistance, and direct cash assistance.
The new Seattle Relief Fund is a $16 million lifeline to help low-income residents who have been disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes households that were unable to access state unemployment, had no health insurance, didn’t receive federal stimulus payments, or experienced housing instability or mental health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This new fund builds on $6.5 million distributed to low-income immigrants and community-based organizations already with Seattle Rescue Funds.
Because of our federal funds, we can continue to help vulnerable residents, especially immigrants and BIPOC families who continue to be disproportionately impacted by this ongoing pandemic.
Award amounts are between $1,000 and $3,000 depending on household size. The fund is open to all eligible Seattle residents regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. Eligible applicants must be 18 years old or older, have incomes under 50 percent of Seattle’s area median income (less than $40,500 for an individual or $57,850 for a family of four), and have at least one of these situations apply to the individual or to a household member:
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Live within the boundaries of the city of Seattle, or
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Be enrolled in the Seattle Promise program, or
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Be enrolled in Seattle Public Schools, or
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Be an artist/cultural worker who has owned or rented an art studio or rehearsal space within the boundaries of the City of Seattle at any time since March 2020.
Applicants can access the online application in one of eight languages. In-language help to assist with application completion is offered from community-based organizations (see below).
The Seattle Relief Fund will start accepting applications today and will close on Monday, November 15 at 11:59 p.m. For more information, please visit the Scholar Fund program page at: seattlerelief.com.
Following the weekend launch of the City’s high-capacity Downtown Vaccination Clinic at the Amazon Meeting Center, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan along with Councilmember Lisa Herbold, and community partners announced the location of the City’s second vaccination clinic at Neighborhood House in the High Point neighborhood, in West Seattle. Beginning on Friday, October 29, eligible vaccinated individuals can receive booster shots of Pfizer, Moderna, and the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccines. Upon federal and state approval of eligibility, children ages 5-11 will be able to receive first and second Pfizer doses at City sites. The new West Seattle Vaccination Clinic will have the capability to administer up to 1,600 shots per week adding capacity to existing public health, health care, and pharmacy capacity.
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This week, Mayor Durkan and several partners honored the Seattle Sonics legend, Lenny Wilkens. On his 84th birthday, Lenny joined the Mayor, for the official unveiling of “Lenny Wilkens Way” at First Avenue North and Thomas Street.
This week, Mayor Durkan joined Vice President Kamala Harris, and a group of several bi-partisan Mayors to talk about President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. During this virtual meeting the Vice President discussed how the Build Back Better Framework and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal will lower costs for families, cut taxes for parents, make historic investments in our Nation’s infrastructure and public transit, and create good-paying jobs in Seattle and across the country.
Mayor Durkan joined to share about the incredible success of the Seattle Preschool Program, and share her perspective on the how these investments would make a difference in Seattle.
Following record enrollment in the Seattle Promise program in Fall of 2020, the program is now celebrating record setting degree completion rates. In 2021, more than 80 Promise scholars completed their post-secondary degrees exceeding national two-year and three-year college completion trends.
Among students who began college in Fall 2018, 24% graduated within 2-years. Among the 2019 cohort, 20% of students also graduated within two-years. Across both cohorts, Seattle Promise two-year completion rates exceed the average national community college two-year graduation rate of 13% released by the National Center on Education and the Economy.
This coming week, Mayor Durkan will be attending the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). She will be joined by other elected leaders, from around the world to help combat climate change on a local, national, and global level.
The City of Seattle continues to lead on climate justice, and Mayor Durkan will be making major announcements on Monday while in Glasgow.
In 2019, Seattle voters overwhelmingly passed a levy to expand The Seattle Public Library’s hours and services, as well as ending overdue fines. Now that all Library locations are reopened, it is planning ahead for how to use levy-supported funds to expand hours and wants to hear from you. When do you want your neighborhood library to be open? What Library services are important to your community?
Let the Library know what you want buy taking the brief survey at www.spl.org/LevySurvey. If you visit a Library branch, you can also use a computer to take the survey or ask for a paper copy. The survey is available in eight languages and is open until Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. If you have questions, call 206-386-4636 or contact www.spl.org/ask.
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Leonard Randolph Wilkens paved the road for so many people, so perhaps it's fitting he now has a Seattle street named after him.
"I came here years ago kicking and screaming," said the guy most people know as Lenny, a three-time basketball hall of famer and legendary local philanthropist who endeared himself to the community decades ago as the 1979 Seattle Supersonic Championship Coach.
"There were 200,000 people downtown - 200,000 people - and they weren't trying to break or tear anything down. They were just celebrating with the Sonics. It's a magical moment," Wilkens said with a twinkle in his eye.
Wilkens raised his children with his wife Marilyn in the Seattle area, while trying to help other children as well. He became the biggest fundraiser and supporter of the Odessa Brown Children's Clinic in Seattle's Central District, helping to single-handily raise millions for the clinic that provides health care to families in need.
"When I went through the clinic and saw how they were treating these young people with respect," Wilkens said. "A sick kid in school put their head down on a desk, they don't learn anything, here is someone trying to help them be healthy so that when they're in the classroom, they can learn."
His philanthropic and civic ventures set him apart from just another former basketball player in the community. Wilkens has inspired others, such as NBA player Jamal Crawford, to give time and money for various community organizations. Wilkens standing also brought stars of stage, screen, and sport back to the community for philanthropic endeavors.
Those efforts, when combined with his on-the-court accomplishments, stood out to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, a noted basketball fan herself. A couple of years ago, she floated legislation to rename the stretch of road outside Climate Pledge Arena after the former coach. The council approved it earlier this year.
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