Organizational Sign on Letter to Governor Ferguson
Sign on here by noon, Monday Nov. 9
November 9, 2026
Honorable Governor Ferguson
Dear Governor Ferguson,
The Washington Housing Alliance and the undersigned organizations request that you please include the following items in your forthcoming biennial operating and capital budget proposals. The following budget requests are necessary and critical to keep Washington residents safely housed and to prevent a significant increase in homelessness. As the Trump administration continues attempting to gut federal funding for homelessness prevention and permanent supportive housing, over 5,700 formerly homeless and disabled individuals could face the loss of their homes next year. The Trump administration is also moving to slash funding for fair housing education and enforcement, which is especially frightening at a time when hostility and discrimination are increasing. And as high rents and junk fees continue to drive housing instability and record high eviction rates, our state’s Right to Counsel program struggles to keep up.
Washington households face unprecedented risks to their stability, but housing is the cornerstone of opportunity. Please include the following items in your budget proposals. We know that the state is facing a significant deficit, but each of the below investments saves money in the short and long term. Shelter and housing keep people off our streets and out of emergency rooms. Stable housing provides a foundation for recovery and improves educational and health outcomes. Each of these investments will greatly contribute to healthy, vibrant, and safe communities across the state.
Protect homeless services and permanent supportive housing from federal cuts and keep over 5,700 disabled people in their homes: $146 million over two years (Operating Budget).
As evictions reach record rates across the state, invest in the Right to Counsel program to keep people in their homes and ensure that renter households don’t face eviction court alone: $8.2 million over two years (Operating Budget).
Ensure that landlords, renters, homebuyers, and lenders know their rights and responsibilities by protecting fair housing education and enforcement: $1.7 million over two years (Operating Budget).
Washington is short by more than 180,000 homes affordable to extremely low-income households. A bold investment in the Housing Trust Fund will help our state make progress on ending homelessness while also stabilizing renter households and providing affordable homeownership opportunities for households across the state: At least $900 million over two years (Capital Budget).
Support rural communities as they work to increase affordable homes by investing deeply in the Connecting Housing to Infrastructure (CHIP) program: $150 million over two years (Capital Budget).
Preserve affordable homeownership across the state by investing significant funds to preserve manufactured housing communities at risk due to sale: $50 million over two years (Capital Budget).
Preserve affordable housing in rural Washington that is at risk of loss due to the expiration of federal USDA use restrictions: $20 million over two years (Capital Budget).
Thank you for your consideration,
cc: Shane Esquibel, Chief of Staff
K.D. Chapman-See, Director of OFM
Em Stone, Senior Housing Policy Advisor
Sign on here by noon, Monday Nov. 9