Washington homeless population surpassed most states in 2022

As winter climate blankets the area, a brand new federal report ranks Washington as having one of many largest populations of individuals experiencing homelessness, with half of these folks dwelling unsheltered.

Driving the information: The U.S. Division of Housing and City Improvement’s annual homelessness evaluation, launched this week, exhibits that Washington is second solely to California relating to its variety of residents dwelling exterior with no shelter.

• Amongst city areas, solely New York Metropolis and the Los Angeles metro had bigger complete homeless populations than Seattle and King County in 2022.

Why it issues: Greater than 250 folks experiencing homelessness died in King County this yr — a document quantity, in response to KUOW, with hypothermia one of many widespread causes of loss of life.

The massive image: Whereas native numbers have equally proven a rise in homelessness lately, the federal report helps us know the place we stand compared to different locations.

Particulars: This yr’s one-night point-in-time rely discovered a complete of 25,211 folks experiencing homelessness in Washington — a rise of 10% from 2020. That quantity consists of folks dwelling in momentary housing or shelters, in addition to these dwelling unsheltered exterior.

• Solely California, New York and Florida had bigger complete homeless populations than Washington on this yr’s rely, per the HUD report.
• Nationwide, greater than half of all folks experiencing homelessness within the nation had been in these 4 states, the report stated.

Sure, however: Whereas the sheer variety of folks with out houses in Washington eclipsed most locations, different states and areas noticed their homeless populations develop by a lot bigger percentages.

• Tennessee, as an illustration, noticed its homeless inhabitants rise by about 46%, whereas the variety of folks experiencing homelessness in Louisiana greater than doubled, leaping by 132%.

In the meantime, in Seattle and King County, the homeless inhabitants rose about 13.8% from 2020 to 2022.

What they’re saying: Gov. Jay Inslee, in addition to native officers, have stated that the principle driver of the area’s homelessness disaster is a scarcity of obtainable housing.

• To attempt to deal with that, Inslee desires voters to approve $4 billion subsequent yr to pay for reasonably priced housing tasks, he introduced final week.
• Jamie Housen, a spokesperson for Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, stated the town is working to handle the issue by placing an “unprecedented” $250 million towards reasonably priced housing in its 2023 price range.

What we’re watching: Whether or not state lawmakers will advance Inslee’s reasonably priced housing plan within the spring — and in the event that they do, whether or not voters will log off on it.

Of notice: A vigil is being held Wednesday in honor of these experiencing homelessness who died in King County this yr. The ceremony will happen exterior Seattle Metropolis Corridor at sundown, anticipated at 4:21pm.