What was the goal of the Sound Families Initiative?
The goal of Sound Families was to make a significant impact on the lives of families in crisis in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties by helping them move toward self-sufficiency. The initiative provided partial support for housing and housing-based supportive services for families in transition out of homelessness. Support services included on-site case management, job search and referral services, and parenting help. The program succeeded in achieving a new level of cooperation on ending family homelessness among the three counties. Inspired by early results from the initiative, the Washington State Legislature created the Washington Families Fund in 2004 to dedicate long-term funding for support services for homeless families across Washington state. The fund is a collaboration of public and private partners and is administered by local housing and service provider Building Changes. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will make its next set of investments to address family homeless
