It was my honor to be asked by the Snohomish County Executive, Aaron Reardon, to be a member of his Housing and Homlessness Committee, as past president of the Snohomish County Camano Association of Realtors.
Snohomish County began a timely initiative Friday geared toward ending homelessness and increasing affordable housing by convening the first meeting of the Housing & Homelessness Policy Oversight Committee.
The committee coincides with other efforts the county will make this year to tackle two of the most pressing issues facing Snohomish County.
Executive Aaron Reardon convened Friday's committee meeting, gathering around him nearly 40 members of the community. Represented are leaders from local and state government, the housing and real-estate industry, educators, nonprofit executives, business leaders and members of the faith community.
"The work you do today will be implemented into county policies and ordinances," Reardon told the group. "This won't be another committee without an outcome. We will get the job done."
The committee will be asked to make suggestions on how best to establish benchmarks for forthcoming homeless and housing initiatives as well as guide long-term strategies.
There are several obstacles to adding affordable housing units in Snohomish County and to decreasing the number of homeless living here. One is the widening gap between housing prices and income, committee members said Friday.
"I have watched people struggle through such crises," said County Councilman Mike Cooper, a member of the committee. "Every day, there are families one paycheck away from being homeless."
The committee is expected to meet at least three more times before the Housing Consortium of Everett and Snohomish County - a nonprofit membership organization searching for solutions to the county's housing challenges - complete its forthcoming Affordable Housing Action Plan.
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