Homelessness
Despite spending nearly $145-million dollars on homelessness and affordable housing each year, Seattle has one of the worst homeless outcomes in the nation. Our homeless neighbors unfortunately continue to be the victims of rape, sex trafficking, and murder. Seattle's recent Focus Strategies report revealed unequivocally that we already have enough housing to get all 3,000 of our unsheltered neighbors inside. However, our current homeless service providers continue to create tremendous resistance to this data and refuse to adopt these proven strategies.
Other cities like Boston, Houston, and Salt Lake City have leveraged data and have used evidence-based approaches and technology to drastically reduce homelessness. Because these cities capture all the relevant data and constantly measure results, they better know which strategies work and should have increased investment. Seattle is only now starting to consider using this approach.
As Mayor, I will use an evidence-based approach and will build upon the success of measured results. Innovation will play a key role with a real-time dashboard that will create transparency on current availability of housing, substance abuse, and mental health beds. Every police officer, firefighter, social worker, and government employee will have access to real-time resource referrals to expedite immediate help for our homeless neighbors. Every dollar saved will be used to expand and create immediate access to services while eliminating the long lines our homeless neighbors currently face.
Solutions:
- Make all reforms suggested by the Poppe Report and the Focus Strategies Report
- Develop a true Coordinated Care System based on the Hub and Spoke model.
- Have a regional summit of all mayors to develop a coordinated regional plan to tackle this issue.
- Expand Navigation and outreach teams
- Hire our homeless neighbors to clean up encampments and offer them medical attention.
- Develop and deploy a state-of-the-art homeless services information management system across all service providers and government agencies:
- Real-time shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing vacancy system
- Real-time detox and rehab vacancy system
- Standardized data capturing system
- Standardized strategy measurement system
- Real-time provider performance dashboard
- Use evidence-based solutions to drive homeless service investments and contracting
- Real-time data sharing across all homeless service providers and agencies
- Performance-based contracting
- Immediate access to detox, rehab services, mental health services, and job placement services.
- Greater investments in Housing First and Landlord Engagement:
- Provide tax breaks, rental assistance, and insurance coverage to incentivize landlords, AirBNB operators, and seniors with empty nests to rent rooms or housing to our most stable homeless neighbors:
- Boston, Houston, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco all use landlord engagement programs to house their homeless neighbors and drastically reduce costs
- Provide tax breaks, rental assistance, and insurance coverage to incentivize landlords, AirBNB operators, and seniors with empty nests to rent rooms or housing to our most stable homeless neighbors:
- The development of a skills and job training center that is aligned with our economy’s needs through public-private partnership with our businesses, unions, and other trade organizations:
- General job skills and interview skills development
- Construction and trade skills development
- Computer and programming skills development
- Culinary skills development like Fare Start
- Maritime skills development
- Childcare and senior care skills development
- Nursing and healthcare skills development
- Direct job placement in our community
Harley Fight for Our Homeless Neighbors and Gets 2 Safe RV Lots Created
