King County Prop. 1
The Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Program
The King County Prop 1 Levy represents the fourth iteration of the The Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services program (“The Program”). It started in 2006 and was expanded to include seniors in 2018.
The Program serves the following three groups:
- Veterans and service members
- Seniors and their caregivers
- Resilient communities (communities whose current or historical exposure to trauma, violence, poverty, isolation, bias, racism, stigma, discrimination, disability or chronic illness makes them vulnerable to reduced health, financial, housing or social stability).
According to King County, more than 27,000 veterans, service members and their families were served since 2018 for our county of 2.3 million people.
The Program:
- Contributed to a 40% reduction in veteran homelessness.
- Helped more than 260 veterans, service members and their families access more than 15,000 mental health counseling sessions.
- Built 234 units of affordable housing for veterans and their families.
Various government assessments show that each of the three supported groups have worse health and economic outcomes than the general population. Research and our past experience link the targeted programs with improved outcomes for veterans, seniors, and resilient communities.
Under the King County Prop 1 Levy, the cost to an owner of a median-valued home is under $85, with total revenue each of the six years of the Levy being around $92 million. The proposed Levy divides its proceeds 30% for veterans programs, 30% for seniors programs, and 30% for programs for resilient communities. Furthermore, at least 25% of all proceeds must promote housing stability. The other four result areas include healthy living, financial stability, social engagement, and service system access and improvement.
Previous iterations of this Levy passed with broad voter support, most recently above two-thirds.
The 45th District Democrats endorse this Levy as responsible and compassionate and the right thing to do.
