Testimony from Ned Delmore, Executive Director at Seattle City Council Meeting – April 2, 2013

Ned Delmore, Executive Director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle|King County, testified today in support of Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden’s “No Child Without Water” Initiative:

I am Ned Delmore, Executive Director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle|King County. We are one of Seattle’s oldest charities helping our needy neighbors with basic needs and survival assistance. We have worked in Seattle for 92 years, serving needy families and individuals.

 

People who need water, shelter, clothing, food and medical assistance have very few advocates.  And we are here to offer our support for Council member Jean Godden’s legislation to help families with young children avoid the prospects of having their water shut off.

 

In 2012 our programs served over 200,000 people in Seattle and King County with assistance to avoid utility shut offs, eviction prevention, food security and other social services. Annually our Help Line receives 55,000 calls from people needing emergency and survival assistance. Of the 1,700 social service agencies in King County, we are the largest referral source for the 2-1-1 Line, receiving over 24,000 calls in 2012. And our 12,000 home visits per year give us a unique view of how folks are struggling in this economy on a day to day basis.

 

In 2012, we received close to 10,000 calls from Seattle and King County residents requesting utility assistance. About 50 percent of those calls came from families having at least one child in the home.

 

While our data collection efforts at St. Vincent de Paul of Seattle King County don’t separate requests for utility assistance by type, we nevertheless estimate that as many as 20 percent of our calls for “utility help” are for water shut-off prevention. Of those 2,000 calls, we estimate that approximately 1,200 of those calls come from families, many of whom are “single moms” with at least one child in the home.

 

Let me share several summaries of some of the 200 calls our Help Line receives every day:

 

Steve, a single dad with two qualifying children had a $1,000 plus balance on his SPU utility bill. We assisted with a portion of it, and referred him to several other resources to try to get additional help and informed him about the SPU Emergency Assistance Program. An additional credit would have made his journey toward keeping his water on much easier and considerably less stressful. He was quite worried about how a shutoff would impact his teenage daughters.

 

Thelma, 66, is married and has two qualifying children and called us with a $450 utility bill. We assisted with a portion of it, referred her elsewhere and had her check with SPU Emergency Assistance Program for assistance with half the outstanding bill. She was most grateful to know about the program and the SPU-Utility Discount Program for the future.

 

Ms. Williams, 38, a single mom with two qualifying children, had received the assistance from the SPU Emergency Assistance Program when she had a $400 bill. We helped with a portion and sent her to other resources as well. A second credit would have made a huge difference to a mom working really hard to try to keep her family safe, comfortable and proud.

I am sure you are aware that many needy families in Seattle are pressured to keep current on heat and water bills or face eviction for violating covenants in their leases. We provide financial assistance to thousands of families facing eviction. As demonstrated by the recent Section 8 housing lottery, 24,000 families and individuals submitted applications for 2,000 slots.

 

Many families are billed by third party managers on the basis of apartment unit square footage, numbers of people on a lease, or a division of an overall bill base on the total number of units being rented in an apartment complex. We believe these kinds of allocation methods can result in arbitrary bills. Many families with whom we talk complain bitterly that they do everything they can to conserve water, but their efforts have little to do with how costs are allocated to billing.

 

We are grateful for the leadership from Council member Godden and others on the Council for working to create more fairness in “water utility billing.” They should be commended for taking the courageous step of extending this program in a time of budget austerity. It is an important issue and passage will benefit many people who are struggling in this economy.

 

We thank you for providing us with the opportunity to testify on this important issue.