Neighbor by Neighbor: Accelerated Shelter Expansion

With approximately 4,500 people sleeping in parks, encampments, and vehicles, unsheltered homelessness is a humanitarian crisis. Mayor Wilson launched a bold initiative to open 1,000 new units of shelter and emergency housing during her first year in office. This follows Mayor Wilson's Executive Order to rapidly bring people inside.

Legislation to Rapidly Expand Shelter

Mayor Wilson's package of legislation will:

1. 1. Speed the development of new shelter. By empowering the Director of Finance & Administrative Services to directly sign lease agreements with property owners, the City can significantly accelerate the process of opening new shelter. This will eliminate bureaucratic obstacles and allow the City to prepare sites, which can then be turned over to service providers to operate shelter.
   2. Allow successful shelters to serve more people. Even the most successful shelters that do the best work and have the best relationships in their communities are currently limited to serve only 100 people. This low limit is out of step with national best practices and what cities like Los Angeles, Austin, Tampa, and Chico, California do. The mayor’s proposal would increase this limit to 150 people per site on an interim basis, provide support to address any potential public safety impacts, and additionally allow one location in each district to serve up to 250 people in cases where it makes sense.
   3. Allocate the necessary funds to open new shelter and emergency housing with wrap-around services this year. $4.8 million has been identified from existing underutilized City sources which can be used to fund shelter and wrap-around services. $3.3 million would be appropriated from an underutilized revolving loan program that was difficult to deploy and not previously appropriated. An additional $1.5 million would be appropriated from the Downtown Health & Human Service fund, which is a program from the 1990s that has not been used for a decade.

Amplify and Scale What Works

People experiencing chronic homelessness need safety and security of non-congregate living space. Mayor Wilson's plan expands shelter options through a diversity of program models including:

• Microshelter/ Tiny House Villages
• Masterleasing multi-family buildings
• RV Safe Parking permits
• Shelter-to-Housing rental subsidies

Behavioral Health and 24/7 Staffing Supports

The proposed shelter and emergency housing programs are not just units - all program models incorporate best practices, pairing onsite behavior health specialists, Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) for substance use disorder, and mental health counseling.

Neighborhood Referral Prioritization

Neighborhoods that host shelter/emergency housing programs should directly benefit from them by prioritizing referrals from the immediate area. At a minimum, one-third of units available would be reserved for people living unsheltered in the immediate neighborhood.

Geographic Equity in Shelter Placement

Homelessness is a citywide issue that requires a citywide solution. Sites will be considered throughout the city of Seattle for siting new programs, which will look at access to transit, food access, and access to services. Siting will also take into consideration the condition, cost, and size of the property.

Get Involved

Join Mayor Wilson's citywide call to volunteer and be a part of the solution. Learn about ways to get involved and show your support.