The Homelessness Crisis in Seattle and the Corresponding Affordable Housing Programs Study

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After Amazon signed the lease of its office spaces in Seattle, this vibrant city has seen the fastest rise in housing costs. Numerous newcomers were attracted to Seattle by the considerable number of lucrative jobs offered mainly by the tech companies that recently moved to Seattle, as the city adopted the technology-led city development strategy. From 2010 to 2019, as the 24% growth of Seattle’s population has induced an increase in the cost of living, the new construction and preservation of affordable housing failed to keep pace, stimulating a homelessness crisis in the city (“Seattle, Washington: Service-Rich Housing Helps Combat Chronic Homelessness”). The annual cost of housing assistance to a homeless person is around $55,600. The seemingly expensive cost is trivial compared to the cost incurred by the potential issues caused by the person’s homelessness status (Moulton).

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The crisis has been there for decades, and it is continuously worsening. The Seattle/King County Continuum of Care recorded 7,910 individuals experiencing homelessness in 2006, 25 percent unsheltered. In 2020, the number increased to 11,751 homeless population and 47% rate of being unsheltered (“Seattle, Washington: Service-Rich Housing Helps Combat Chronic Homelessness”). The homelessness crisis in Seattle requires long-term commitments that consist of strategic development of private or public affordable housing programs and financial incentives to construct a comprehensive, inclusive, and service-based community that is conscientious about the issue. In this paper, I will list and introduce the primary affordable housing programs available to the Seattle civilians in need, and succinctly make recommendations to the institutions involved about the next steps.