Campion Advocacy Fund
We believe in the power of people and place
Studies report that 48% of adults who experience chronic homelessness were homeless for the first time before age 25. We must systematically address youth homelessness to preclude adult homelessness.
Early intervention will have lasting impacts. When every community has enough housing and services for anyone experiencing homelessness, our work will be done.
Campion works at the federal, state, and local levels, which is rare and also effective. With a 501(c)(3) foundation, we can make targeted grants to stimulate action. With the 501(c)(4) advocacy fund, we directly advocate for principled policies and develop partnerships to leverage community strength.
In some places in Washington State, homelessness is about to become history. We’re all in for making that possibility a reality.
Focus on Youth
Getting youth safely housed is non-negotiable. In Washington State, our collaborative approach between government and community leaders has resulted in a 40% decrease in youth homelessness.
This collaboration created tailored interventions that are quick, direct, and effective. The Homelessness Prevention and Diversion Fund specifically addresses what youth need to stave off homelessness: small, flexible cash grants and access to stable, affordable housing.
We are working with federal partners to scale this successful model across the country. With compassionate and focused national and local efforts, we can prevent and end homelessness among young people.
Racism is an effective tool that divides our movements and communities, and undoing racism will create an environment where all forms of inequity can be more effectively disrupted.”
Build Equitable Policies and More Housing
We must continue to eliminate any and all barriers and put in place permanent protections against discrimination.
In King County, Black residents people make up 7% of the overall population, but 25% of those experiencing homelessness. The Covenant Homeownership Program, enacted in 2024, aims to help residents who have been generationally affected by historical redlining and exclusionary practices by offering help with down payments for first-time homebuyers.
According to a September 2024 report by the State Advisory Council on Homelessness, lack of affordable housing for those in our state who make the lowest incomes remain the prime drive of homelessness.
We need to build more affordable housing. By 2040, the region must build 523,000 — half of these at prices affordable to the working class — to accommodate the growing population. To keep people in their homes, more tenant protections, including rent stabilization, must be established.
Increase and Leverage Government’s Role
The scale of the homelessness crisis requires everyone to be all in for solving it.
Business, philanthropy, people with lived experience, and government must work in concert to coalesce equitable policies, funding, resources, and services.
The King County Regional Homeless Authority is a radical departure from previous models. As a partner to their work, we continue to support learning and innovation with the belief that collaboration will bring awareness and successful outcomes. At the state level, the Office of Homeless Youth leads the effort to reduce and prevent youth homelessness in every county by partnering with organizations providing direct services and listening to youth with lived experience.
At the federal level, together with the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Campion is pushing to increase the federal role in closing the gap of nationwide housing needs. The NLIHC continues to encourage Congress to provide leadership and invest in improving housing access across the United States—their “The Gap” report shows that our country is short 7.3M affordable rental homes.
Courageous vision, government leadership, and innovative plans can lead us to bold and necessary systemic change.
We simply would not have the level of homelessness we have today if it weren’t for two things: 1) the federal government walking away from building housing 40+ years ago and 2) racism.
As a result, a tangle of systems emerged which often left out the people they were intended to serve, especially when it comes to our youth. Our challenge today, and I believe we can overcome it, is to increase effective government support, create effective systems, and most importantly to build public will that believes we can end homelessness and will hold our public sector accountable until we do.”
