Homelessness Response Blog

Following Mayor Durkan’s announcement to increase the City of Seattle’s bridge housing and shelter units by 25 percent by creating 500 safer spaces, the City of Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) has worked with partners to bring resources online and available to people experiencing homelessness. With Seattle’s shelters operating at or near capacity on a nightly basis, new shelter meets a critical need to create more safe spaces for people sleeping unsheltered throughout the city.

As part of Mayor Durkan’s path to 500 new safe spaces, HSD provided funding to Virginia Mason’s Bailey Boushay House to open its doors this past November as a new shelter serving HIV positive men. The shelter serves 50 individuals 365 days a year and paired with Virginia Mason’s day medical center which provides critical life-saving treatment for HIV positive individuals. (Read local media coverage on the opening of Bailey Boushay House here).

Additionally, through a partnership with King County, Harborview Hall opened in December, serving up to 100 people living unsheltered. The overnight shelter at Harborview Medical Center allows pets and possessions, creating an important new shelter resource on First Hill. Further, the City began enrolling individuals in a new pilot program to provide housing and stability services for 40 low-income people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. The pilot, which is managed by Bailey Boushay, is designed to help clients confidentially access housing by leveraging HOPWA resources with local agencies such as the Chief Seattle Club, Seattle Indian Health Board, Center for Multicultural Health, and others.

With the opening of Harborview Hall and launch of the new HOPWA pilot, the City opened a total of 516 safer spaces in 2018, serving approximately 540 people experiencing homelessness. This increase in shelter capacity is the largest expansion of City-funded shelter resources in Seattle’s history. The following shelter resources are now available:

• Whittier Heights Women’s Village– 16 new tiny houses, serving 22 women experiencing homelessness (Opened May).
• City Hall Shelter– 80 new basic shelter beds at Seattle City Hall (Opened July).
• YWCA Late Night Motel Vouchers– 40 beds through motel rooms for families experiencing homelessness, which can serve between 40-60 individuals and children each night (Opened July).
• Salvation Army William Booth Center– 8 additional enhanced shelter beds (Expanded in July).
• Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets – 5 additional beds within existing young adult shelter (Expanded August).
• True Hope Village – 35 new tiny houses in Seattle’s Central District, serving 58 people experiencing homelessness (Opened September).
• YWCA’s Angeline’s Center for Women– 35 new beds within YWCA’s existing day center for women (Opened August).
• Navigation Center– 10 additional beds within the City’s first 24/7, enhanced shelter (Expanded in September).
• Haddon Hall-75 enhanced, 24/7 shelter beds operated by Catholic Community Services and Plymouth Housing (Opened October).
• Lake Union Village – 22 tiny houses serving 37 adults experiencing homelessness (Opened October).
• Bailey-Boushay House– In partnership with Virginia Mason, this shelter will serve 50 HIV positive men experiencing homelessness (Opened November).
• HOPWA pilot – In partnership with Bailey Boushay, serving 40 people living unsheltered and with HIV/AIDs find housing (Opened December).
• Harborview Hall – 100 overnights shelter spaces at Harborview Medical Center.

The City of Seattle makes significant investments to clean up trash resulting from the homelessness crisis. The numbers below have been updated to reflect amounts collected during all of 2018.

Removing Trash from Unmanaged Encampments: In 2017, City removed 3,205 tons (6,410,000 pounds) of garbage and waste from unmanaged encampments. In 2018, the City has removed more than 1,184 tons (2,368,000 pounds).

Trash in the right-of-way: In May 2018, Seattle began a new Citywide effort to remove garbage and debris from roads, sidewalks, and the public right-of-way adjacent to RVs. Started initially as a pilot in November 2017 in SODO, this new coordinated effort is led by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), SPD’s Community Police Team (CPT), Seattle Parks and Recreation (Parks), Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) in order to reduce negative impacts to public health and safety. The pilot is designed to engage RV occupants to voluntarily move their RVs, which allows City crews to clean and remove garbage, waste and immobile vehicles left behind. The City has collected 322,556 pounds of trash.

Encampment trash (Litter bag) pilot program: In January 2017, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) began a pilot program to collect trash from unsanctioned encampments and from areas where RV camping is frequent. Working with other City departments and community partners, SPU gives out litter bags and conducts regular and on-call pick-ups. The pilot has collected 718,350 pounds of trash – an average of about 31,233 pounds a month.

Syringes: In August 2016, SPU launched a program to collect syringes through complaints as well as special disposal boxes in City public rights-of-way and small bathroom units in City parks. The pilot has collected more than 145,916 syringes.

Due to increasing rent and chronic illness, Sarah Childs feared that she would become homeless before she received her Housing Choice Voucher (formerly Section 8). Through the Seattle Rental Housing Assistance Pilot, Ms. Childs and her family received financial assistance to help them remain housed. Read more about her story here.

The Human Services Department (HSD) is partnering with four agencies, Neighborhood House, Solid Ground, YWCA and Muslim Housing Services, to serve individuals and families like Ms. Childs’.  In an expensive housing market like Seattle’s, people are in danger of experiencing homelessness while they wait for housing assistance. This pilot is designed to help keep people housed while they wait to receive housing vouchers and search for more affordable housing options.

The Seattle Rental Housing Assistance Pilot prevented 208 people from falling into homelessness between April and September this year. Mayor Durkan dedicated funds from the sale of City property to create this homelessness prevention pilot which helps people maintain housing and decreases the inflow of people into emergency services like shelter and tiny house villages.

Seattle is the first city in the country to open tiny house villages to people living unsheltered.  These villages are outdoor, temporary accommodations for people who are living in conditions that threaten their health and safety.

Villages offer tiny house-like living structures, community kitchens, hygiene services and case management to clients that have lived outside for extended periods of time or for whom traditional shelter may not be a good fit. Seattle currently supports nine tiny house villages with 328 units. 533 individuals and families were served in villages from January 1- September 30, 2018.  You can read more about the villages here.

The City of Seattle is not renewing the Licton Springs Village permit in 2019. Currently housing case managers are working with residents to connect them with supportive housing or safe alternative living spaces. Read more about the next steps for Licton Springs here.

Mayor Durkan has increased case management support for the villages through the Path to 500 to ensure that residents have the opportunity to connect to housing through this program. Read about the Path to 500 here.

The City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) released the results of its homelessness funding for the first nine months of 2018. These results represent activity from January 1 through September 30, 2018. Agencies receiving city funds served 22, 311 families and individuals and supported 5,716 in leaving services to enter permanent housing (3,915) or in maintaining supportive housing (1,801).

City funds have helped more individuals and families to find housing in nine months (5,716), than all of 2017 (5,456).

Key Successes from January 1 – September 30, 2018:

• 22,311 households served, an increase of 7% compared to Q3 2017
• A total of 5,716 individual and families exits to housing – 3,915 exits to permanent housing and 1,801 maintaining housing. Surpassing all of 2017
• 30% more exits to permanent housing (907 more) compared to Q3 2017
• Doubled the number of Native American/Alaska Native individuals and families entering housing

New Investments in 2018

HSD supports thirty-three agencies, offering over one hundred-fifty programs, that serve and assist people experiencing homelessness across Seattle in 2018. The programs offer services to people who have a variety of needs – from homelessness prevention projects that help keep people housed, to emergency programs like shelters, to housing programs that assist people in making a connection to permanent housing. These services are integral to creating an effective homelessness response system.

Three new investments in 2018, made with Mayor Durkan’s leadership, have improved the system.

• Seattle invests in 700 more enhanced shelter beds in 2018, then 2017.
  • HSD shifted investments in emergency shelter from basic, overnight beds to enhanced shelters which provide a consistent place to sleep, store belongings, and attend to personal hygiene.
  • These programs have a higher percentage of success in helping people enter housing than overnight shelters, producing a rate of exits to permanent housing that is five times that of overnight shelter.
• Doubled the investment in Diversion, a housing program with promising results.
  • HSD doubled the investment in Diversion to $2 million in 2018, and will expand the program again in 2019 with support from philanthropy
  • Diversion offers short term financial assistance or case management that connects people to housing when their experience of homelessness is new
  • It has a high rate of success, connecting 74% of households that leave Diversion programs to housing, and helped 663 individuals and families find housing in Q3
• Expanded capacity in emergency shelters and tiny house villages by 25% in the Path to 500
  • Mayor Durkan invested proceeds in the sale of the city property into the rapid expansion of emergency shelters and tiny house villages to offer more people a safe place to stay every night.
  • Since May, Seattle has invested in 416 additional safe spaces including:
    • The first shelter that exclusively serves people living with HIV/AIDS at Bailey Boushay
    • Three new tiny house villages with 73 new units: True Hope Village, Lake Union Village and Whitter Heights Village
    • 80 new shelter beds in City Hall

This is the first year that HSD has released the quarterly outcomes of its homelessness system investments. The results from Q1 and Q2 have been posted on this site previously.

The City of Seattle’s Human Services Department (HSD) released the results of its homelessness funding for the first six months of 2018. These results represent activity from January 1 through June 30, 2018 and show agencies receiving city funds served 18,356 households and helped 4,459 households exit to permanent housing (2,644) or maintain their housing (1,815). The 2,644 households exiting to permanent housing represent an increase of 35% (692 households) over the same time in 2017. In all of 2017, city funds helped 5,456 households exit to permanent housing or maintain their housing, which the city is on track to surpass.

“HSD began 2018 with clear goals – invest in programs that work and help more people connect to housing from all points in the homeless services system,” said HSD Interim Director Jason Johnson. “Quarterly data helps us understand if the City’s investments are supporting people effectively and identify how we can improve. We’re encouraged by the increases in placing people in housing and grateful for the hard work human service providers have demonstrated in helping vulnerable people.”

In 2018, the City of Seattle has a budget of over $86 million across more than a dozen departments to invest in services for people experiencing homelessness and mitigate the impacts of people living unsheltered across the City. HSD oversees more than 157 contracts with programs throughout the city that provide services for people experiencing homelessness. Moving people into housing (exits to housing) and/or keeping them from becoming homeless is the primary measure of success for programs that received funding through the City’s investments at HSD.

Highlights of First Six Months of 2018

• Programs have served 18,356 households in first six months 2018, an increase of 5.4% (946 households) over 2017.
• 4,459 households exited to housing (2,644) or maintained that housing (1,815) through city investments. The 2,644 households exiting to housing represents a 35% (692) increase over the first six months of 2017.
• Housing programs are moving people to permanent housing at an increased rate over 2017;
• Native American/Alaska Native and Black/African American households– populations that experience homelessness disproportionately – are moving to housing at increased rates in comparison to the first six months of 2017. Specifically, programs receiving city funds have helped more NA/AN households connect to housing in the first six months of 2018 (284 households) than in the entire year of 2017 (273 households); and
• In the first six months of 2018, 4,071 households were served by enhanced shelters and 691 exited to permanent housing, an increased rate of 7% of over the first six months of 2017.

The Homeless Services System

Seattle invests in three primary categories for homeless services:

• prevention (keeping people housed),
• emergency (shelters and connection to housing), and
• housing (permanent housing that may or may not include subsidy and support services).

Together, these create the homeless services system. Click here to read definitions of homeless services terminology.

Housing Programs are Moving More People to Permanent Housing Over 2017

All housing programs increased the rate at which they are moving households into housing or helping them maintain housing over the first six months of 2017.

• Diversion: Diversion primarily helps people avoid the emergency shelter system by offering one-time financial assistance and case management. Of the 593 households served in the first six months of 2018, 72% of households that left the program exited to permanent housing, a rate that is 11% higher than the first six months of 2017. In 2018, HSD increased funding for Diversion programs to $2 million from $1 million in 2017..
• Rapid Rehousing: This national best-practice which combines temporary rental assistance and case management to help people eventually assume their own housing costs, moved people to housing at a rate that is 5% higher than the first six months of 2017, and had a success rate of 80% in Q2 2018. HSD increased investment in Rapid Rehousing programs from $4.3 million in 2017 to $7.2 million in 2018.
• Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH):The most effective housing program for high-needs people experiencing homelessness, PSH offers ongoing housing and support services for people who need long-term assistance. PSH has a success rate of 97% in helping people maintain their housing or leave supportive housing to move to other kinds of permanent housing. The success rate in the first six months of 2017 was 95%. HSD increased investment in permanent supportive housing from $9.3 million to $13.2 million in 2018 in order to help people who need the highest level of services to successfully obtain and remain in housing.

Human Services Programs Help More Native American/Alaska Native and Black/African American Households Connect to Housing in 2018

Native American/Alaska Native (NA/AN) and Black/African American (B/AA) households experience homelessness disproportionately to their representation in the population of King County. These households are seven times and five times more likely to experience homelessness, respectively.

Programs receiving city funds have helped more NA/AN households connect to housing in the first six months of 2018 (284 households) than in the entire year of 2017 (273 households). In addition to serving more people, programs have increased their rate of success in connecting these clients to housing by 10% over 2017. 33% of NA/AN households exit homeless services to permanent housing in the first six months of 2018, up from 23% in the first six months of 2017.

In the first six months of 2018, there were 1,713 B/AA household exits to permanent housing from homeless services programs, an increase of 351 household exits over last year. 37.5% of B/AA households leaving homeless services entered permanent housing, an increase of 10% over the last year’s rate of 27.5%.

“During the 2018 funding process, HSD asked homeless services providers to join us in helping more Native American and Alaska Native households and more Black and African American households enter permanent housing from homeless services programs. We are pleased to see this progress and look forward to continued improvement,” said Jason Johnson.

Supportive Services Result in Improved Housing Results

Enhanced shelters, which provide 24/7 or extended hours of services, storage for belongings, and case management, have continued to support more people in finding permanent housing. In the first six months of 2018, 4,071 households were served by enhanced shelters, and 691 exited to permanent housing, an increase rate of 7% of over the first six months of 2017. Enhanced shelters have a rate of moving clients to housing that is five times that of basic, overnight shelters.

The City’s basic shelters and permitted villages continue to be a critical component to the City’s emergency response to provide safer spaces for people experiencing homelessness. So far in 2018, they have served more than 3,750 households in the first six months of 2018. Seattle first invested in sanctioned encampments in 2015. Since this time, HSD has increased support for tiny houses, hygiene services, and case management. Residents often face many barriers to finding stable housing and are more likely to find that stability with more support services. In 2018, Seattle has expanded to support eight villages, with a ninth expected to open this fall, which provide spaces for more than 350 people per night. The City’s Villages are at capacity every night and have supported 17% of households who exit the program in finding permanent housing in the second quarter, a decrease of 5% over the same six-month period in 2017. In recognition that more services support improved housing outcomes, the City increased case management support at the Villages in the second quarter. HSD will continue to monitor the performance results of this program quarterly.

“City-funded homeless services programs are serving more than 18,356 households in 2018, an increase of over 5% from last year. This tracks with what our providers have seen – more and more people are experiencing housing instability in our rapidly growing region. Their needs are outpacing the City’s homelessness prevention, emergency and housing services capacity. HSD is pleased with the continued improvement in the system’s housing results, but a continued regional focus on creating more housing is key to helping people exit the homeless services system permanently,” said Johnson.

City Implements New Accountability and Performance Measures

In 2016, the City of Seattle, King County, and the United Way of King County adopted the same performance standards in a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016. In addition, the City of Seattle has established and implemented in 2018 new performance standards in City programs including diversion, prevention, outreach and engagement, basic day and hygiene centers, and villages. 2018 is the first year the City is implementing full accountability measures across all programs. Each of these programs have different targeted standards.

In 2018, HSD implemented performance pay for key areas of investments: emergency shelter and enhanced day centers, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing – this rewards programs with the full amount of their contracted award when they meet performance standards. While both HSD and King County use performance pay contracting based on the adopted performance standards, HSD pays programs based on the rate of exits to permanent housing standard and King County pays programs based on the utilization rate standard.

In Q2 2018, 65% of the programs subject to performance pay contracting met the standard for exits to permanent housing. 31 of 48 programs total subject to performance pay contracting are meeting standards.

HSD is partnering with the remaining programs to develop improvement plans and to ensure that the City’s contract policies are being operationalized to support the intended result – helping more people move from homeless services programs to permanent housing. HSD has an intensive process in place to partner with the remaining programs to increase the likelihood that they will receive full payment in future quarters. HSD is committed to using any funding that wasn’t paid out to support technical assistance and training designed to help programs move more people to permanent housing.

As the City of Seattle moves more unsheltered people into safer places, we are working to restore public spaces that were previously encamped into safe, clean spaces. The City makes significant investments to clean up trash resulting from the homelessness crisis. The numbers below have been updated to reflect amounts collected as of August 29, 2018.

Removing trash from unmanaged encampments: In 2017, City removed 3,205 tons (6,410,000 pounds) of garbage and waste from unmanaged encampments. In 2018, the City has removed more than 986,000 pounds.

Trash in the right-of-way: In May 2018, Seattle began a new Citywide effort to remove garbage and debris from roads, sidewalks, and the public right-of-way adjacent to RVs. Started initially as a pilot in November 2017 in SODO, this new coordinated effort is led by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), SPD’s Community Police Team (CPT), Seattle Parks and Recreation (Parks), Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) and Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) in order to reduce negative impacts to public health and safety. The pilot is designed to engage RV occupants to voluntarily move their RVs, which allows City crews to clean and remove garbage, waste and immobile vehicles left behind. The City has collected 167,210 pounds of trash.

Litter bag pilot program: In January 2017, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) began a pilot program to collect trash from unsanctioned encampments and from areas where RV camping is frequent. Working with other City departments and community partners, SPU gives out litter bags and conducts regular and on-call pick-ups. The pilot has collected 612,140 pounds of trash, an average of about 30,600 pounds a month.

Syringe collection program: In August 2016, SPU launched a program to collect syringes through complaints as well as special disposal boxes in City public rights-of-way and small bathroom units in City parks. The pilot has collected more than 111,760 syringes.