The governor was in Seattle last week to visit The Hope Factory and the Downtown Emergency Service Center. He spent time talking about the future of his homelessness policy during his tour of Seattle’s homeless shelters. His visit included talks with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, We are In King County, the City of Seattle, King County, and the Washington State Lived Experience Coalition.
There was an update given on the “Partnership for Zero” project, an announcement of the launching of a housing command center, and outlining plans to house people living unsheltered in downtown Seattle and the Chinatown International District. The Mayor of Seattle made a public request for more funding for the Unified Care Team. That entity is charged with handling requests, shelter referrals, and clean-ups around urban encampments.
“We have just invested over $800 million in state funds to help all cities across the state of Washington,” Inslee said. “We have increased our funding dramatically and what we’re doing is giving people multiple ways to deal with homelessness.”
News addressing the city’s homelessness sparked the governor into action. He said that in the meantime, Washington needs more temporary housing including tiny homes and hotel conversions. He said rapid housing is supported by a $300 million investment from the $800 million the state allocated toward homelessness solutions.
“People get into a tiny home, it is a giant step forward for them to be fully housed,” Inslee said. “We’re buying hotels and transforming them. We have congregate shelter. We want soup to nuts, we want multiple ways to attack homelessness, we’ve got to find the most efficient ways to do business.”
