As the Trump administration continues to slash the safety net programs that millions of Americans rely on to get the housing, food, and healthcare they need, Solid Ground and our local coalition partners have been working hard to help safeguard these and other critical programs in Seattle and King Country.

The city and county have now officially approved their 2026–27 budgets, and we’re heartened that our local leaders have stepped up in this time of immense instability for families living on low incomes to protect housing stability, food access, legal support, and our broader ecosystem of human services.  

Together, we helped secure several investments that will protect tens of thousands of people who rely on these essential support systems. Here are just a few of the local wins that we’re celebrating. 

Protecting essential programs and housing from federal cuts 

WIN: The City of Seattle established a $21.1 million funding reserve to protect against service disruptions that would most harm people experiencing homelessness, and those who access public benefits, food banks, and meal programs. It includes $11.8 million dedicated to housing and shelter programs – an area that will be particularly hard hit with drastically restricted Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) funding. The King County Council has also directed the county executive to propose a reserve fund to mitigate the harm of CoC cuts. 

While we celebrate these investments for 2026, we also know more is needed to close the total $40 million funding gap the HUD cuts would create. 

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: The Trump administration has cut or threatened to cut federal funding for these critical programs while also making it more difficult for people to access them. In Washington state alone, 170,300 people are expected to lose Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to new work requirements and immigrant eligibility changes. Cuts to CoC funding would also be devastating for permanent supportive housing programs that serve thousands of individuals and families that have experienced homelessness in King County. 

Restoring full funding for tenant services 

WIN: The 2026 Seattle budget adds $900,000 to fully restore funding for renter education and eviction prevention, which was significantly cut in 2024. See our blog post, Seattle’s mayor wants to pull back on homelessness prevention. Here’s why we can’t let that happen.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: As our region struggles to keep people stably housed amid record-high eviction rates and unstable federal housing support, programs like Solid Ground’s Tenant Services are an increasingly critical resource to help renters understand their rights and connect with resources to prevent homelessness. 

Improving food security for our neighbors  

WIN: The Seattle budget includes an additional $3 million for food banks, $1 million for meal programs, and $250,000 for senior center meal programs. 

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: With millions of Americans expected to lose critical food benefits from the impacts of HR1 (the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) on households receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, it’s essential for our local leaders to invest in the emergency food systems that allow so many of our neighbors to keep food on the table.  

Advancing wage equity for human services workers  

WIN: The 2026 Seattle budget takes another important step toward wage equity for workers in the human services sector – the people who work every day to make sure vulnerable members of our community get the assistance and resources they need. The budget funds a 2% increase to Seattle human services contracts (in addition to inflation adjustments).  

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: This modest funding increase will help chip away at the 37% pay gap a University of Washington study found between nonprofit human services workers and peers doing comparable work in other industries. Our funders and our sector still have a long way to go to fully address this disparity, and Solid Ground will continue to advocate for investments that make the human services sector more equitable and impactful for the communities we support. 

Looking ahead 

While we celebrate these wins, we also know the road before us is hard – and will only get harder. Solid Ground will continue to mobilize alongside our partners to mitigate harm to our communities. Thank you for doing this work with us.  

We’re especially grateful to Seattle City Councilmembers Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Dan Strauss, and King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, for their leadership on several of these investments. Please join us in thanking them!

---

Photo at top: Phoenica Zhang, Solid Ground Advocacy Specialist, testifies before the King County Budget and Fiscal Management Committee on 11/12/25.