At this moment, in Seattle, Washington, there are about 12,500 homeless people living in shelters or on the streets.

Recently, Seattle was ranked 3rd in the nation, after Los Angeles and New York City, for the most homelessness. According to a report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Seattle homelessness has risen by 0.3 percent in 2018 alone.

A shocking fact: while Seattle’s homelessness has risen dramatically over the year, L.A and New York City’s homelessness has decreased this year. In Washington state, over $90 million is being spent to fight this homelessness. More investment to build affordable housing have been demanded by local politicians.

According to HUD, the rate of increase increased throughout the nation compared to a earlier year.

The upsides have already been pointed out by Ben Carson, Secretary of HUD: the homelessness of veterans has dropped to 5.4 percent and children and women went down to 2.8 percent.

But the downside: homeless people who have started to sleep outside instead of shelters due to them being over packed, has risen by 2.3 percent.

One of the #1 causing deaths of homeless people in King Country is drug overdose. It’s easier getting heroin on the streets than alcohol. More homeless get into heroin detox than alcohol. The number of opiate overdose deaths have tripled since 2009. More than 3,000 people received methadone treatment in King County.

“Our state and local partners are increasingly focused on finding lasting solutions to homelessness, even as they struggle against the headwinds of rising rents,” Carson said.

Effort into making Seattle homelessness go down and put people into affordable housing and safe shelters. It’s a new beginning.

Sources:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/homelessness-rose-just-a-bit-this-year-in-the-u-s-heres-how-seattle-compares/
https://www.seattle.gov/homelessness/the-roots-of-the-crisis