Triumph Treatment Housing Staff Meet With State Legislators about Homeless Advocacy.

Triumph Treatment Housing Staff Meet With State Legislators about Homeless Advocacy.

Homelessness in the United States cannot be represented in one experience.

According to the Homeless Network of Yakima County’s 2014 Annual Report, when people experiencing homelessness were asked last year where they live, 83 percent said transitional housing, emergency shelters or permanent supportive housing.

Conversely, 6 percent of those surveyed in 2014 said they lived in a vehicle, outdoors or in an abandoned building, according to the report.

Triumph’s housing department staff works to be responsive to the community’s housing needs by providing 134 beds for women, children and men experiencing homelessness or living in transition. The agency also hosts a hygiene center, which is located in its largest transitional housing building.

On Feb. 17, Triumph staff and housing advocates from across the state banded together with Washington Low Income Housing Alliance for Housing and Homeless Advocacy Day.

While at Advocacy Day, Triumph staff was able to dialogue with elected leaders about the importance of equitable and dignified housing opportunities for people experiencing extreme poverty and homelessness.

As a sign of solidarity, staff members exercised their activist legs on Facebook by using the hashtag #WhyIAdvocate. We encourage you to do the same. Maybe hold up a piece of paper with the phrase, “I advocate because…” and finish the sentence with why you stand for equitable and fair housing resources.

For more information about Triumph’s housing programs, call (509) 248-1800.