Jayapal Urges Congressional Committee to Fund Local Community Projects
Submits community-based funding requests for consideration to the House Committee on Appropriations
SEATTLE — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) continued her fight to deliver critical Federal funding for local projects across western Washington last week. She officially submitted community-based funding requests for consideration to the House Committee on Appropriations as the powerful committee puts together Federal funding for the 2022 Fiscal Year. This followed Representative Jayapal’s earlier work to submit 10 regional priorities to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The community-based funding requests submitted to the House Committee on Appropriations are outlined here, and listed below in alphabetical order by project name:
$210,000 for Arts Recovery Project, Path with Art, 312 2nd Ave S., Seattle, WA 98104
Path with Art offers free, year-round, comprehensive multidisciplinary arts programming. It is the only arts organization in Seattle solely focused on underserved adults, including no- to low-income adults in recovery from trauma like substance abuse, homelessness, and mental health challenges. The organization has a long track record in delivering trauma-informed arts engagement and offering mental health and substance use disorder support services by harnessing the transformative power of art as a bridge to recovery and stability. This request will support Path with Art to increase its capacity, program expansion, and continued outreach as we work to recover from the pandemic and meet the increasing need for broad mental health recovery among vulnerable populations.
$300,000 for Enhanced Youth Services, City of Burien, 400 SW 152 St. Suite 300, Burien, WA 98166
The City of Burien’s Enhanced Youth Services provides a multi-faceted approach to prevent and intervene in the involvement of youth in gang/group activity, substance abuse and other negative behaviors by disrupting pathways into the criminal legal system and incarceration. The project invests in young people’s future by providing opportunities for personal, professional, and financial growth through programs, services, and support. Case Managers will use a person-centered, strength-based, restorative justice approach to help youth and families establish action plans to meet their education, employment, housing, economic advancement, and legal status goals.
$700,000 for the Northwest Native Canoe Center, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, 5011 Bernie Whitebear Way, Seattle, WA 98199
The United Indians of All Tribes Foundation negotiated an agreement with the City of Seattle in 1970 to provide property with waterfront access. This request supports the first phase of the United Indians for All Tribes Foundation’s long-awaited Northwest Native Canoe Center on South Lake Union. The Center will consist of a Carving Center and Welcome House where canoe families can gather and the public can visit. This request will help realize the long-held vision of creating a Native place on the City’s shorelines where people can celebrate Coast Salish heritage through cultural and educational offerings.
$750,000 for Pacific Apartments Rehabilitation, Plymouth Housing Group, 2113 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA 98103
The Pacific Apartments is a historic landmark that houses people formerly experiencing homelessness. The primary goal of this project is to convert single room occupancy units to units with bathrooms and kitchenettes. Other project goals include plumbing, sewer, electrical, and mechanical upgrades; structural repairs; ADA access upgrades; and RAD conversion. Funding will help ensure affordable housing and quality of life for residents for many years to come.
$300,000 for The Peacemaking Academy, Alliance for Gun Responsibility Foundation, PO Box 14041, Seattle, WA 9811
The Peacemaking Academy supports efforts to reduce gun violence in the community by diverting offenses from the traditional court process, which focuses on punishment and labeling conduct, to a restorative justice approach that utilizes Peacemaking Circles. The program is one of the only a few programs in the country that refers high-level juvenile offenses to restorative practice. Restorative justice programs like this have been shown to be more effective in reducing recidivism rates among juvenile offenders than traditional court processing.
$400,000 for Renewable Energy Home Heating Conversations, City of Seattle, 600 5th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
The Renewable Energy Home Heating Conversations project advances the City of Seattle’s goal to phase out heating oil in Seattle by 2028 by converting low-income households to energy-efficient electric heat pumps and providing weatherization. Heat pumps also provide air-conditioning which is important for vulnerable residents to be comfortable especially during extreme heat and wildfire smoke events.
$300,000 for Seattle Repertory Theatre Renovations, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109
The Seattle Repertory Theatre (Seattle Rep) is the largest nonprofit resident theatre in the Pacific Northwest and serves its audience by producing a full season of the finest classic and contemporary dramatic work. This request will help the Seattle Rep bring the Theatre’s primary and largest performance space up to current standards for the Americans with Disabilities Act and provide restrooms accessible to transgender and gender non-conforming people. These renovations will improve access and equity for the 160,000+ patrons who attend 350+ performances and events in Seattle Rep’s facility in a typical year, including those produced by the organization as well as by other non-profit organizations that rent or utilize the space for free.
$321,280 for Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology (TAST) at the Ballard Locks, Oceans Initiative, 117 E Louisa St #135, Seattle, WA 98102
This project would support the recovery and survival of Endangered Species Act-listed Chinook salmon and other salmon species, which will in turn support the recovery of Southern Resident killer whales who rely on salmon as their primary food source. Specifically, the request supports further deployment and study of new technology, the Targeted Acoustic Startle Technology (TAST), which deters pinnipeds by eliciting a startle response. TAST is the only mitigation tool besides lethal culling that is available to curb pinniped predation on endangered and threatened salmon.
$550,000 for UW Institute for Protein Design Instrumentation, University of Washington, 139 Gerberding Hall, Box 351264, Seattle, WA 98195
This request supports purchase of equipment that will accelerate the Institute for Protein Design’s (IPD) research capacity and response within the IPD’s pandemic preparedness program and directly help discover new cures for current and future pandemics. Specifically, purchase of the Biacore 8k instrument will allow researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design Instrumentation to use the creation of new proteins for biotechnological applications. These novel proteins will help researchers address 21st century challenges across a host of disciplines including, medicine, energy, and technology.
$275,000 for the WIOA Employment Program, Neighborhood House Incorporated, 1225 S. Weller St., Seattle, WA 98144
Neighborhood House’s WIOA program helps job seekers connect with living wage jobs. Neighborhood House targets services at the communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically people who are low-income, BIPOC, immigrants, and refugees. This promotes equitable recovery from COVID-19 and increased economic prosperity for communities experiencing disparities.
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Issues: Civil Rights, Housing, Transportation, & Infrastructure