KING COUNTY, Wash. — In a push to improve public well-being and safety, King County will ask voters to approve a tax in next year's special election that would fund five walk-in crisis care centers in each corner of the county.
It comes after the City of Kirkland announced earlier this month that in 2024 they plan to open and fund the first walk-in crisis center in the county, which they were able to fund ahead of this levy, said King County Executive Dow Constantine.
The fate of the additional centers lies in the hands of the voters. Under the proposal, property owners would pay an estimated yearly tax of $121 based on a $694,000 median-priced home in King County.
Amid historic labor shortages in healthcare settings, KING 5 asked Constantine about his plans for recruiting and retaining enough people to operate five 24/7 crisis centers.
"We will pay to have organizations that employ folks, increase the pay," Constantine said. "We will pay for apprenticeships and training, and in the implementation plan we will work on figuring out within each region of the county, what are the supports people need to be able to go into this profession?"
"People do this because they care, but they also have to be able to afford to live in the community they're serving," Constantine said.
One local woman said her son struggles with his mental health, and help can be hard to come by.
"I think twice as a homeowner in Seattle about anything that becomes, you know, a tax the tax on property, but it's just undeniable that we need the help," said mother Kristin Knight.
Knight said she has spent 24 hours in an ER waiting room before.
"Even if they, oftentimes, feel like they should have a higher level of care, there just isn't one available," Knight said. "I've been told so many times, there's no beds available, there's nowhere to send us.”
Governor Jay Inslee spoke out in support of crisis care centers at the March 8 announcement that the first crisis care center would be opening at 11410 NE 122nd Way in Kirkland.
"That means you don’t have to sit in the emergency room for three days. Your family member doesn’t have to go to jail," Inslee said. "In fact, you go to a crisis intervention center and get the first step on recovery."
Constantine said the centers will be distributed geographically across the county.
"There will be one in each part of the county: south, north, east and west, and one clinic exclusively for youth," Constaine said.
And what about potential pushback from neighbors?
"There is a lot of excitement about having these facilities available," said Constantine, when asked about the possibility of nimbyism. "This challenge is not limited to homeless people in downtown Seattle or people in our jails, it’s happening everywhere, and there are working-class families, middle-class families, well-to-do families who don’t know where to turn when their sibling, when their spouse is in trouble.”
Ballot drop boxes for the King County April Special Election open on April 6. The Election Day deadline is April 25.