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Seattle to bolster homeless efforts

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Associated Press

SEATTLE — City officials have agreed to boost spending for emergency shelters and other programs for the homeless to avoid a vote on an initiative that would require shelter constructions.

City council members voted unanimously Monday to approve the agreement, agreeing to add $2.75 million for homeless programs next year in addition to the $14 million already budgeted.

"This (commitment) is the single largest contribution the city has made in its history toward the reduction of homeless," council member Peter Steinbrueck said.

In exchange, backers of the "Shelter With Dignity" Initiative 71 agreed not to have the measure put before city voters next year. It would have required the city to add 400 shelter beds and increase funding for homeless services by 20 percent.

Instead, the council promised to:

  • Add 170 shelter beds for the homeless over the next 18 months and 70 places for people to live while they are making the transition from homelessness.

  • Develop a new hygiene and day center, probably downtown, with showers, bathrooms, laundry facilities, computer access, mental health and medical care and help with employment training and job searches.

  • Reserve for the working poor half of the new apartments and homes that would be built under a $100 million, seven-year city housing levy that officials plan to submit for a vote in November 2002. The working poor would be defined as those earning 30 percent or less of the city’s median household income, about $22,000 for a family of four.

    In an annual tally of the homeless in King County two weeks ago, volunteers counted 1,464 people sleeping in tents, cardboard boxes and tarpaulins, 16 percent more than last year.

    Officials believe that on any given night, there are about 6,500 homeless people in the county, including roughly 4,500 within the city. Since 1998 the number of shelter beds within the city has increased by about 11 percent to a total of 2,278.

    Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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