Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and King County Executive Dow Constantine have signed declarations of emergency. But not for a natural disaster – what they are trying to address is the growing problem of homelessness.
In Seattle these days, it is hard to miss the growing number of tents. Each one is the temporary home for a person – or even a family – who is struggling.
The city of Seattle now spends more than $40 million to try to help people who are homeless, but Murray says it is not enough.
With his proclamation of civil emergency, he says he is trying to get an additional $5 million put toward things such as 100 new shelter beds and a mobile van that will offer mental health counseling.
“We are basically saying what we would say after an earthquake, there’s a disaster. We need federal and we need state assistance and we will not let this go away,” he said.
Inslee's Response
Jaime Smith, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jay Inslee, said Inslee has felt that this is an emergency since he took office.
"We certainly welcome the city and county emergency declarations and hope that it means greater attention to this problem and more action at all levels of government," Smith said in an email. "Having a unified front across all levels of government will send an important message."
She said there's a lot left to do, but pointed out investments such as almost $150 million in additional money for the state's housing trust fund in the past two budget cycles as well as $10 million for a new program to end family homelessness.
County Plans
Constantine said the county is expanding shelter in Seattle by 50 beds and providing 20 new housing vouchers for people exiting drug court, among other steps.
"Homelessness is not a natural disaster, it's a human-made disaster," Constantine said.
The One Night Count earlier this year found a 21 percent increase in the number of people living outside and unsheltered in King County. That number totaled more than 3,700 people.
Murray says he is particularly troubled by the number of children living without a home. Almost 3,000 kids attending Seattle Public Schools are homeless, an average of more than one student per classroom.
The mayors of Los Angeles and Portland also recently issued emergency orders to tackle homelessness.
Still, the announcement by Seattle and King County leaders met with some criticism.
The homeless social service and advocacy group SHARE/WHEEL said the plan continues the status quo.
"Simple, cost-effective shelter tonight is being shunned in favor of expensive programs helping far fewer people," the group said in a statement on their web site. "It's not enough to say it's an emergency and keep the status quo."
