Please join AWC in signing on to a letter to increase funding for Washington’s Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) program. Last year, we actively worked on policy changes to this program because it provides a significant safety net to prevent homelessness for some of our most vulnerable residents.
HEN ensures that extremely low-income people diagnosed with significant, temporary mental illnesses or physical disabilities can meet their basic needs like housing and hygiene while they are unable to work. Unfortunately, current funding levels are not enough to meet the true demand. As a result, county providers are incurring waitlists and eligible clients are not being served.
HEN is both a frontline investment in our state’s behavioral health system and a critical component of our homelessness response systems in local communities. 81% of people eligible for HEN have a mental illness need and 40% are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness upon referral. A significant increase of $69 million for the HEN program is critical to match the statewide need.
81% of people eligible for HEN have a mental illness need and 40% are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness upon referral.
Join AWC and sign on the HEN letter here.