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| Councilmember Osman Salahuddin |
From the desk of Redmond Councilmember Osman Salahuddin...
Bob, I believe that you and I fundamentally agree that we don’t want our seniors, veterans, and residents with disabilities to be homeless and living on the streets. They deserve to be able to live in their community and have the help that they need to get by.
Because of this agreement, our Council has spent a great deal of time addressing this decision. Because I take my responsibility to you as your Councilmember very seriously, I have personally been looking directly into the data about our city in guiding my decision. I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned with you to further our discussion about this important issue.
What I’ve learned about our City of Redmond (see data links below for verification):
- 3,916 of our neighbors are earning less than $15,000 annually (at or below Federal poverty line);
- 6,401 of our neighbors are living with a disability, some of which impacts their earning ability;
- 7,502 of our neighbors are seniors ages 65+, some of whom cannot afford the rising cost of living;
- 1,913 of our neighbors are veterans, many of whom are part of those earning less than $15,000;
- These are Our community members, who need Our help to stay housed and safe.
The intention of the 100 units of permanent supportive housing that Plymouth is offering our community is to house (in the downtown) our seniors, our veterans, and our residents living with disabilities. To add to this, we have an incredible shortage of housing at all levels, so to meet the needs of our own residents – specifically – for safe and healthy places to live, we need to provide housing opportunities for people at or below the adjusted median income of $30,000 annually. The location will be ideal for folks who are experiencing disabilities with its proximity to the Light Rail station.
