SEATTLE — Almost 5,000 more people experienced homelessness in Washington state in 2023 than they did 15 years prior, new federal data shows.
Washington saw an increase of 4,657 people who experienced homelessness from 2007-2023, a 19.9% increase per The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In its 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, only California and New York saw larger increases. California counted over 42,000 more homeless people in the same time frame, while New York saw 40,599 more recorded homeless people.
On a single night in January 2023, Washington (4% of the U.S. total) was one of four states that accounted for more than half of the nation's entire homeless population. The other states were California (28%), New York (16%), and Florida (5%).
Overall, the U.S. experienced a 12% increase in homelessness from 2007-2023, with over 653,000 total. More locally, the Seattle and wider King County region had the third-highest total homeless population among major U.S. cities, behind New York City and Los Angeles County.
The King County Regional Homeless Authority (KCRHA) went through a turbulent 2023 that saw its CEO resign in May and a state audit showed it needed stronger internal controls on its finances in September.
The agency also drew criticism from Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and King County Executive Dow Constantine after it wound down its Partnership for Zero pilot program focused on a new approach to addressing homelessness in two impacted neighborhoods.
The program aimed to "dramatically reduce" unsheltered homelessness in certain areas of King County. During its year-long run, the program "resolved" six long-standing encampments and housed over 230 people in Downtown Seattle and the International District.
Initial funding for the program expired, and the agency said they and its partners "recognize that the need for unsheltered services in Downtown Seattle and the Chinatown International District is greater than the capacity for the Partnership for Zero pilot."
Moving forward, KCRHA said with limited resources at its disposal coupled with urgent needs in the community, the agency needs to focus on core functions like contracts with providers, systems administration and implementation of its five-year plan.
“While this was a pilot, ultimately, it is a disappointing end result – for the Authority, their workers, philanthropists, and, most importantly, people living on the street unhoused downtown," Constantine and Harrell said in a joint statement. "This experience provides further confirmation of the need for the comprehensive review we launched of the organization’s governance structure, oversight, and accountability systems.
The Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) called Partnership for Zero "the right approach executed in all the wrong ways," saying it "lacked sound management, oversight and focus." The DSA called on the county to assume responsibility for the region's homelessness response "if the KCRHA isn't up to the task."
