Welcome to 2021! I feel a sense of relief and hope as we leave 2020 behind. We can anticipate the end of the pandemic where we have lost so many, and have experienced a complete change of our lifestyles and our relationships. To me, as someone who is always looking on the bright side of things, I saw incredible generosity in the community and resiliency among our staff and clients. The past year required so much from all of us. Giving grace to each other became a habit as we pivoted and innovated and at times, simply got through another day. The spirit of “We Got This” buoyed us when we were struggling. When we asked for help, you and so many in this community rallied. Companies partnered with caterers to make and help us deliver take-out food for our transitional housing families, churches supported our residents’ rental burdens, and individuals stepped up with very large gifts to provide rental assistance for those less fortunate.
Attain Housing continues to do what we do best despite working remotely and having to react to numerous challenges throughout the year. Attain Housing has remained laser-focused on our mission of ensuring vulnerable families on the Eastside keep a roof over their heads and those transitioning from homelessness have case managers to walk alongside them on the journey to permanent housing.
Attain had a significant year in 2020, assisting more families and Eastside residents than ever before! While it was difficult for our transitional housing families to keep their employment and income during the lockdowns, none were at risk of losing their housing and all had their 2020 rental debt completely paid off through generous donations.
Rental Assistance is the topic that you continually hear about these days. We are facing a “rental cliff” when the eviction moratorium ends and tens of thousands of people who are behind on their rent may be evicted and end up homeless. This is against everything we believe in, and we have worked very hard to help as many Eastside households as possible pay off their rental debts. Not only did we have an expanded Stable Home program with extra support from the cities of Kirkland and Bellevue, but also we were the ONLY Eastside agency to support the distribution of Federal CARES Act rental assistance funds through King County in the 4th quarter of last year. To give you a window into the scope of this growth, in 2018, Attain prevented 270 Eastside residents from losing their homes. In 2020, through both of our programs, we more than tripled that and helped 909 Eastside residents!
As Attain continues to be a major player in Eastside rental assistance, we will look for more funding to help us serve more residents. Please consider a donation to Stable Home and possibly help one of your neighbors.
The caring community around Attain Housing is stronger than ever. We will get through this together!