Every January, in the middle of the night, thousands of volunteers and outreach workers spread out across the country to count the nation's homeless population. They search highway underpasses, wooded areas, abandoned buildings and sidewalks to locate those who are living outside. But this year, because of the pandemic, the annual street count has been canceled or modified Read More
Starting around 2010, there has been a significant increase in spills coming from RVs and other vehicles in Seattle. It was happening as the number of people living out of their vehicles was on the rise. By one count, 891 people lived out of their vehicles in Seattle and the surrounding area in 2010. Now that number is close to 3,000. Read More
The governor said in a news conference Wednesday that he’s concerned about housing insecurity during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Continue Reading Governor Jay Inslee Extends Washington Eviction Moratorium Through End Of Read More
There's a growing consensus that a more punitive approach hasn't worked for Spokane. Nationwide, the homeless population is rising. In many communities, it can feel like an intractable problem. Yet cities like Spokane are starting to show some incremental progress with some prevention programs. Read More
When Washington lawmakers convene a short, election year session on Monday, Jan. 13 they’ll confront a range of issues from homelessness to gun control to whether to expel state Rep. Matt Shea. Continue Reading Gun Read More
A new homeless shelter in Seattle is exclusively serving Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. It's one of the first facilities of its kind in the country helping to house the more than 1,000 Native people in the city experiencing homelessness. Read More
It's billed as one of the most livable places in the country with its good schools, leafy streets and safe neighborhoods. That's what makes Boise, Idaho, an odd backdrop for a heated legal fight around homelessness that is reverberating across the western United States. Read More
The state of Washington now finds itself grappling with an issue that’s been front and center in Seattle, Portland and many other cities -- people who are homeless living in dilapidated recreational vehicles parked on public streets. Read More
Mark Lloyd started his guerrilla toilet distribution project after he saw encampments popping up and spreading in his Seattle neighborhood, just east of downtown. He felt compelled to become involved, get to know the people and see what they needed. Read More
Seattle is grappling with a crisis of what is sometimes called "visible homelessness" — people who live in the street and struggle with mental illness or drug addiction. It's a population that often commits small crimes, such as disorderly conduct or shoplifting to pay for drugs. And public frustration is growing. Read More
Homelessness is often considered an urban phenomenon. But those who work on homeless issues say rural homelessness is a growing problem, too. That's true across the state and across the country. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NPR, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reported in May that one in three rural Americans say homelessness is a problem in their Read More
A new proposed bill aims to employ the homeless in three cities in Washington. Washington State Senator, Hans Zeiger of District 25, sponsors this bill and hopes it passes in April. Continue Reading Homelessness On The PalouseRead More
Microsoft is investing $500 million to help develop affordable housing and address homelessness in the Seattle area as the growth of tech companies in the region continues to flood the real estate market with high-salaried workers, leaving many other people behind. Read More
The city of Portland will not change how it enforces its anti-camping law, following a sweeping opinion by a federal appeals court on Tuesday that similar rules might violate the constitutional rights of homeless citizens. Read More
Matthew Desmond estimates that 2.3 million evictions were filed in the U.S. in 2016 — a rate of four every minute. "Eviction isn't just a condition of poverty; it's a cause of poverty," he says. Continue Reading First-Ever Evictions Read More
Listen Orondo, Washington, lies on the Columbia River between Chelan and Wenatchee. Its population fluctuates with the growing season as migrants work surrounding fruit orchards. This small town’s school district has the largest percentage of homeless students in the state. For the 2015-2016 year, nearly half of the 156 students in Orondo were in a… Read More
Former Washington governor Mike Lowry, an unapologetic liberal who advocated for higher taxes and social programs, died Monday from complications related to a stroke. He was 78. Continue Reading Former Washington Gov. Mike Lowry DiesRead More