Seattle renters are all too familiar with the gut-punch of rent renewal notices: a cheerful “Happy Anniversary!” followed by a staggering increase—9.9 percent, 15 percent, or a jaw-dropping 45 percent. Between 2021 and 2022, downtown Seattle's median asking rent soared from $1,300 to $3,118, as housing costs fluctuated post-peak pandemic. Residents across the city struggled to keep up with skyrocketing housing costs, leading Seattle to launch the Economic Displacement Relocation Assistance (EDRA) program in July 2022.

EDRA was created to address the growing crisis of economic evictions. But instead of preventing displacement, EDRA only responds to renters already in the process of being displaced. Rather than by regulating rent increases or alleviating financial pressures renters face, the city created a bureaucratic system that renters must opt into and navigate. This shifts the burden of time, effort, and knowledge onto renters while failing to address the root causes of displacement or provide meaningful support to help low-income households remain in Seattle.

Almost a quarter of Seattle parents are raising their children in co-parent or single-parent households, and the percentage of blended families nationwide is on the rise. While every household structure comes with unique challenges and struggles, some hit harder than others. Just financially, the median income for married couples with children under 18 in Seattle peaked at $237,300, but for single mothers, that number drops down to $58,600, well below a living wage in this city for an adult with children.

While information is not tracked on how many single-parent-led households are actively co-parenting, most parenting plans resulting from a divorce or separation in Washington involve shared custody agreements. Lucia Ramirez Levias, collaborative divorce lawyer and partner at DuBois Levias Law Group, said, “Our courts have generally looked at kids needing both parents in their lives, to the extent that those parents are fit and able to care for them.” The movement toward 50/50 parenting plans ensures dads are also recognized as valuable, important parents in kids’ lives.

Washington State has already prohibited public universities from using affirmative action for the past quarter-century, but that doesn’t mean the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College won’t have far-reaching consequences beyond state collegiate systems. While the court has effectively ended admission policies that address inequity through race-conscious measures, this decision has the potential to set back equity efforts through the entirety of the educational pathway.

“I have real concerns not only for Seattle, but more prominently in the U.S., about how this is going to impact funding models long-term,” said Brandon Hersey, the South End’s director on the Seattle Public Schools board. Hersey recognizes that numerous universities and colleges have been working in preparation to ensure equity in their admission processes. His greater concern is the legal precedent of calling into question any strategy based on race, potentially limiting both the ability and resources to support students of color throughout their entire academic timeline.