Press Releases

SEATTLE, WA – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) announced today that restaurants in Washington state will be able to apply for direct relief through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund beginning Monday, May 3, at 9:00 AM PT. Applicants can register on the U.S. Small Business Administration application portal here.

“Independent restaurants in Washington’s ninth district are the cornerstones of our community and local economy,” said Rep. Smith. “I am proud that we passed direct relief for them and the people they employ as part of the American Rescue Plan. The recovery of our restaurant and hospitality businesses are both an important key to a full recovery and it’s crucial we continue to support them so we can soon gather again safely with friends and family.”

The $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund was created by the American Rescue Plan that Rep. Smith helped pass last month. The law incorporated key provisions from the RESTAURANTS Act, which Rep. Smith also co-sponsored in the previous Congress.

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund will provide restaurants and other eligible businesses with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss up to $10 million per business. The relief does not have to be repaid, provided that the funds are put toward eligible uses by March 11, 2023.

The Restaurant Revitalization Fund application portal can be accessed at https://restaurants.sba.gov/requests/borrower/login/. Participating POS providers include Square, Toast, Clover, NCR Corporation (Aloha). Entities that work with Square or Toast, you do not need to register beforehand on the portal.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) submitted a Community Project Funding request of $673,000 for the Entrepreneurship Incubation Hub: Teaching & Commercial Kitchen for Refugee & Immigrant Community, World Relief Seattle in Kent, Wash. to the House Appropriations Committee.

“We are beyond thrilled that World Relief Seattle’s Commercial/Teaching Kitchen has been elevated as one of the 10 CPF projects for Representative Adam Smith’s Office. This project, if funded, will enable hundreds of refugees and immigrants to build economic capacity, start microbusinesses, and bring neighbors of all races and ethnicities together-- over their passion for food!  What can be better than that!  In addition to the Commercial/Teaching Kitchen, we will bolster this project with an Immigrant Entrepreneurship Academy—so that people can be connected to culturally appropriate knowledge, access capital and connect to a network of business people who can add to the success of their business.  This opportunity could provide powerful pathways to economic thriving for the communities we serve, at World Relief Seattle.”

This request would help World Relief develop a teaching and commercial kitchen that will be a 1,215 sq. ft. multi-impact community space serving Washington’s King County refugee and immigrant community. This space will be used as an entrepreneurship and small business incubation hub to launch and promote local businesses, particularly food-based businesses, and train refugee and immigrant entrepreneurs through an Entrepreneurship Academy hosted in the space.

The project will promote entrepreneurship and successful small business ownership within historically underserved communities; advance community based economic empowerment through promoting food related businesses and income-generating initiatives; and simultaneously increase food security and sovereignty for refugee and immigrant communities.

Click here for information about other Community Project Funding requests submitted by Congressman Smith.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) submitted a Community Project Funding request of $590,600 for the AiPACE Adult Day Center and Clinic, Aging in PACE Washington (AiPACE) in Beacon Hill, Seattle, Wash. to the House Appropriations Committee.

"We are incredibly grateful for Congressman Adam Smith's ongoing support to ensure that vulnerable communities have equitable access to quality health care,” said Teresita Batayola, AiPACE Board President. “Funding for AiPACE will enable Asian and Pacific Islander frail elders to age in place with culturally appropriate healthcare and wraparound services, while giving support and peace of mind to family caregivers."

The AiPACE Adult Day Center and Clinic will provide services to low-income, nursing-home-eligible API elders through the evidence-based, nationally recognized Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). This is the first such program in Washington designed specifically for API elders. The requested funding will help AiPACE continue the development of the project towards an expected open date in 2023.

The “aging reimagined” approach spearheaded by AiPACE is shaping a world where all elders can age with dignity and respect regardless of economic status or race; where families and communities are kept whole; and where all sectors unite to create an effective and sustainable health care system that offers quality of life for all.  The AiPACE Adult Day Center and Clinic’s holistic, culturally- and linguistically-relevant services, delivered to meet individualized needs, will help API elders to age in place – in communities already familiar to them – and maintain health and well-being.

Click here for information about other Community Project Funding requests submitted by Congressman Smith.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) submitted a Community Project Funding request of $766,000 today for Health One Expansion for the City of Seattle, Wash. to the House Appropriations Committee.

"Health One saves lives and helps so many in the community,” said Mayor Jenny A. Durkan. “This is an award-winning program that ensures that dedicated and specially trained professionals are available to provide care for our neighbors experiencing non-emergency medical or behavioral health challenges. In recent weeks, the City of Seattle has scaled this program by adding a new unit and service areas. As we continue to deepen investments to expand public safety alternatives like Health One we are freeing up our first responders and allowing them to focus on emergency situations."

This project would add capacity to Seattle’s existing Health One program to respond to referrals and nonviolent emergency 911 calls with behavioral health professionals and crisis care management teams. Health One is oriented toward service to vulnerable and under-represented communities and individuals who struggle to access health and social services. Approximately half of clients served are experiencing homelessness; many of the other half reside in supportive or low-income housing.

Another response team would allow Health One to reach an additional 1,000 individuals through referrals each year. The current Health One program, and similar diversion programs for non-violent 911 calls, have demonstrated success in providing more appropriate behavioral and mental health support than traditional 911 response, reducing unnecessary interactions between police and community members, and helping ensure emergency response programs are meeting the needs of the community. 

Click here for information about other Community Project Funding requests submitted by Congressman Smith.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representative Adam Smith (D-Wash.) submitted a Community Project Funding request of $350,000 for the Family First Community Center – Health Clinic, HealthPoint in Renton, Wash. to the House Appropriations Committee.

"When former Seattle Seahawk Doug Baldwin approached HealthPoint with his vision for a community health and wellness center in the historically underserved Cascade/Benson neighborhood, we eagerly agreed to form a partnership,” said Lisa Yohalem, HealthPoint President and CEO. “This partnership aligns perfectly with our mission of strengthening communities by breaking down barriers to care. We are grateful for the support from Congressman Smith for the new Family First Community Center that will serve thousands of low-income families with quality health care services along with recreational and educational opportunities."

HealthPoint will bring quality health clinic and wellness programs to the new Family First Community Center (FFCC) in Renton. The full-service primary care clinic will include medical, behavioral health, and dental care. This funding will support capital equipment purchases for the health clinic, expected to open in 2022.

With HealthPoint’s onsite full-service primary care clinic, participants in FFCC programming will benefit from seamless access to health care services whether their point of entry is through sports, recreation, STEM, or other programs taking place at the FFCC. The co-location of the clinic with the FFCC will eliminate many of the transportation and financial barriers to accessing health care currently experienced by low-income families in the Cascade/Benson Hill community.

Click here for information about other Community Project Funding requests submitted by Congressman Smith.

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