Seattle provides 94% of region’s shelter beds for single adults
Mayor calls for assistance from state of Washington and region

SEATTLE - Of all the shelter beds available for single adults in King County, 94 percent of them are in the city of Seattle. While the city provides the bulk of the region’s homeless shelter, many of the occupants are not from Seattle.

Mayor Greg Nickels today said city taxpayers should not shoulder the entire cost and impacts of the region’s homeless population, and he called upon the state of Washington and other cities in King County to come to Seattle’s assistance and step up to the problem in their own communities.

There are currently 1,724 shelter beds for single adults in King County, of which 1,621 are within Seattle’s city limits, according to data from the Human Services Department and the Committee to End Homelessness King County Inventory of Homeless Units and Beds. Seattle taxpayers fund 70 percent of all shelter beds in the city.

While the city provides the vast majority of shelter beds in the region, a recent Safe Harbors report in King County finds about 46 percent of those being served by shelter and transitional housing programs are not from Seattle. About 9 percent of those providing their last permanent residence were from elsewhere in King County, 9.75 percent from elsewhere in Washington state and about 27 percent from outside the state.

Last permanent residence reported by Safe Harbors single adult clients

Seattle	1,830	54.40 percent
Other King County	305	9.06 percent
Other Washington Location	328	9.75 percent
Outside Washington	901	26.78 percent
TOTAL	3,364	100 percent

In 2008, the city of Seattle will spend $38 million on funding for homeless services:
• Emergency Shelter: $6,661,590
• Day Centers and Hygiene Facilities: $3,004,753
• Transitional Housing: $6,537,906
• Permanent Housing: $1,698,514
• Meal Programs: $683,527
• Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance: $4,690,920
• Homeless health care, child care, family counseling, youth services, community support, employment: $5,427,794
• Capital investments to build supportive housing: $9,300,000

Mayor Greg Nickels' 2009-2010 budget proposes expanding funding for shelter and day-service programs, including a late-night emergency program for families. Nickels' budget also includes $2.1 million to secure more beds and services for "Housing First," an innovative strategy to provide housing for chronically homeless individuals with in-house medical, mental health and other support programs.

The mayor's proposed budget spends a record $52.5 million of general fund on human services to help the least fortunate, including $2.9 million for food assistance, such as purchasing food in bulk and delivering food to seniors and others who find it difficult to leave their home.

Visit the mayor’s web site at www.seattle.gov/mayor. Get the mayor’s inside view on efforts to promote transportation, public safety, economic opportunity and healthy communities by signing up for The Nickels Newsletter at www.seattle.gov/mayor/newsletter_signup.htm.

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Office of the Mayor