Seattle City Wire

Solving the homelessness crisis has consistently been the most important issue for people in our region, according to The Index.

Recent trends confirm immediate action is required. Washington’s 2022 point-in-time count found nearly 13,000 individuals live outside and are unsheltered across the state — up from about 10,800 in 2020. When you include those residing in temporary or supportive housing (shelters), the total count of individuals experiencing homelessness grew from nearly 22,900 to more than 25,400 since 2020.

The Chamber is committed to end homelessness in our region. We’ve been working in broad coalitions and strategic-thought partnership groups to advance the policy changes necessary to increase both the supply and the variety of housing we have here in Puget Sound.  In collaboration with our local government officials, nonprofit organizations focused on housing and homelessness, and business community partners, we’ve been putting our commitment into action by addressing root causes and systemic hurdles to get people inside.

With the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) up and running, and the launch of the Partnership for Zero, additional housing units are opening, state and local governments are committing additional significant investments to support these efforts, and the private sector remains active and engaged in providing additional resources.

Most importantly, the people experiencing homelessness are being connected to the critical resources they need to thrive – shelter, services, and housing. The Housing Command Center (HCC) program at KCRHA has been primarily focused on standing up a centralized emergency operations management system that coordinates and streamlines the myriad of actions required to get people off the streets. Currently, the HCC is focused on permanently housing people living unsheltered in downtown Seattle.

The work of the Partnership for Zero/Housing Command Center in Downtown Seattle is already underway, and the results include:

• More than 5,400 individuals, couples, youth, and families moved into housing.
• Over 1,270 individuals, couples and families previously experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence have been moved into safe and stable places to live.
• The Housing Command Center Field Team has engaged nearly 800 people living unsheltered to assess their needs to match them with services and housing as resources become available.
• In addition to those housed by KCRHA, nearly 500 previously homeless people have been housed across the region through the Health Through Housing Initiative, which has purchased 10 buildings to serve as emergency and permanent supportive housing.
• More than 1,300 referrals to shelter were made in Seattle through a coordinated outreach effort involving the City’s HOPE Team, KCRHA, and nonprofit partners.
• Nearly 2,000 new units of shelter and housing have been identified in Seattle.
• Through partnership with Gov. Jay Inslee and state agencies, five encampments on state Department of Transportation property have been resolved, bringing nearly 120 people inside.
• People experiencing homelessness downtown are receiving individualized support from 26 Systems Advocates, who have been hired as part of the Partnership for Zero effort.

We’ve been hard at work advocating on behalf of our region to find practical, implementable, feasible ways to end the homelessness crisis in our downtown core and throughout the region.

In 2023, KCRHA will release its 5-year plan to the public in the spring. The Chamber is also supporting the King County’s Crisis Care Levy, Proposition 1 on the April Ballot, which will increase our region’s capacity to address and prevent some of the other root causes of homelessness that we can’t build our way out of.

For more information, please contact Sarah Clark, Director of Policy at the Seattle Metro Chamber, sarahc@seattlechamber.com.

Original source can be found here.