(Image: YouthCare)
The City of Seattle and King County have agreed on restructuring the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in a move hoped to streamline the $250 million a year effort that will also likely undercut the organization’s ability to develop new solutions to the area’s ongoing homelessness crisis.
Last month, the Seattle City Council approved the plan already signed-off on by the county to transition the RHA “to a single oversight board to improve the agency’s coordination, accountability, and transparency.”
The new agreement creates a Governing Board “responsible for setting strategic policy direction, providing fiscal oversight, monitoring performance metrics, and ensuring the authority is making progress to fulfill its mission,” according to the city’s announcement.
The new 12-member board will include the King County Executive, the Seattle Mayor, two members of the King County Council, one representing a district in Seattle and one representing a district outside of Seattle, two members of the Seattle City Council, three elected officials from the Sound Cities Association, and three members representing individuals with lived experience each individually appointed by the City of Seattle, King County, and Sound Cities Association.
The move comes after five years of sputtering starts and stops by the authority as it struggled to set priorities with funding provided primarily by Seattle despite its regional mandates. This summer, US Department of Health and Human Services policy director Kelly Kinnison was tabbed as the new head of the RHA. The authority had been without a permanent leader since founding CEO Marc Dones stepped down in 2023 amid criticism of his $11 billion plan for establishing the organization.
The new structure of the RHA is expected to reposition the authority as an implementation body acting on initiatives and priorities set by the new board.
According to Publicola, King County and city officials will also be able to redirect funding and initiatives to their own projects under the new agreement. Publicola reports the city and county must now provide “at least as much funding for the authority, not accounting for inflation, as they did in 2019, unless the city or county decides to take programs over themselves; in that case, the money goes back to the city or county along with the programs.”
Officials say the county and city’s ongoing homelessness crisis has been worsened by a lack of affordable housing. Officials say nearly half of the new homes required in the coming decades “must be affordable to households earning less than 50% of area median family income” to meet predicted demand.
CHS reported here on the authority’s latest count which estimated nearly 10,000 people are living without shelter in King County with another 6,600 counted in shelter systems.
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We need more accountability. The primary metric to measure success should be the number of encampments. As such, the Board should be all elected officials. It makes sense to consult people with lived experience of homelessness, but they shouldn’t be on the Board.
Why do you think they should not be on the Board?
Because the whole point of the Regional Homeless Authority is to coordinate the government response (budgets, communication, staffing, accountability) to a regional crisis. Adding unelected people with lived experience of homelessness to the executive board is about activism and virtue-signaling. It is symbolic of why Seattle and the region keep spinning our wheels and sinking deeper and deeper into the mud on this issue. We need leadership to rebuild trust. If they aren’t serious about results and would rather continue to virtue signal, then it should be disbanded.
So if we put people with lived experiences on the board. It’s sure to fail. Right? We’d have already gotten it right if it were not for the fact “lived experiences” ruined it everytime?
I mean I am trying to see the logic here.
Lol did you see the absolute shit show of the “lived experience coalition” they had.
Just from what I’ve seen personally. The “lived experiences” people are politicians in disguise. There has to be some motivation to even apply for the gig. It ends up being a social activist type in the end. Also, these “lived experiences” people generally have some kind of higher education.
It’s not ideal. But the people who can really add to the discussions generally don’t want to do it.
I would trust someone with lived experience (who is appointed by elected officials from Seattle or King County) over a council member from a glorified HOA like Hunts Point or Medina (who could potentially be appointed under this structure). This type of structure where the smaller incorporated towns and cities that refuse to contribute and have no experience with what the actual problems are have outsized influence. See Sound Transit for reference.
By the virtue of someone having experienced homelessness they are in a privileged position which outweighs demonstrated ability to accomplish a goal?
Not sure why you should trust someone who has f*ked up their life over someone who has demonstrated they can be successful, knows how to organize, knows how to set and meet goals… People on this board don’t have to be from Hunt’s Point or Medina, but they should be people who have a track record of success… If you think people with ‘lived experience’ should be involved, it should be as consultants, not as the folks who are expected to carry out the planning.
“Give the politicians a chance!”
Sure, ok…
The poor should be the ones in charge, IMO.
We tried that under Dones and it was a complete failure and wasted hundreds of millions and accomplished nothing.
Agree. Dismal failure.
Yes people who can’t run their own lives should run the city.
Send them all to Bellevue
Why is everyone acting so stupid? I cannot justify giving any of you the compliment of being ignorant! The homelessness problem is simply (and no other reason at all!) that this cities rent is absurdly expensive and 16.66 to $40.00 an hour is living in complete poverty! Do you buy groceries? Do you buy clothes? Do you buy shampoo and trash bags and tampons and snacks for your kids! How are we supposed to LIVE. Stop your excuses, passing the blame and “wondering what to do”. Give people a roof and food!! Shame on you!
It’s because the only people living in the city should be the ones that have the highest paying jobs with the largest businesses in the city. Everyone else should live outside the city, u know, service jobs are for the servants and they don’t live in the house proper- but on the yard. Welcome to the land of public slave ownership .
The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.
Voltaire
Thats essentially how it works in most major cities outside US and Canada.
So rent isn’t the issue, good fast public transit is.
Yes, commuting 45 mins in to work is an acceptable norm.
I’m actually all for prioritize the building of subsidized housing for those in the 35-65% of Seattle’s AMI over building housing for 0-30% AMI. That would basically cover those in many professions, including new teachers and first responders.
It’s simplistic to say that the problem is “simply” rent prices. You are ignoring the very real problems of addiction and mental illness that we see on our streets every day.
The thing is, those problems intersect. The fact that they don’t have housing is pushing them back towards whatever takes that edge off. Lots of people who have homes also struggle with addiction and mental illness and nobody is saying we should take their housing away to improve their situation. Providing housing the people who are struggling should be the first step to help get them back on their feet.
Yes, but only IF effective “wrap around” services are offered on site of that housing. This requires a lot of money to fund addiction specialists, mental health workers, etc. and I doubt this is actually being done. Just having a “case manager” is not enough to make a difference.
Yes it does
I don’t know about any others, but I am sitting back with my bingo card and blotter and waiting to read the usual suspects with the same old veiled conservative talking points that could’ve come directly from Fox News.
So:
When will we see the term “progressive” used both inaccurately and — importantly — as an epithet?
Double points for the phrase “failed progressive policies.”
The terms “socialist” and “communist,” again used incorrectly, will likely crop up, but they are **so** dated at this point that they only deserve an eye roll.
What else am I missing? Maybe mentioning of the long-gone Sawant?
Get your bingo cards out, folks!
I’m sorry that our regional struggles are amusing to you… Maybe don’t sit back and poke fun and try rolling up your sleeves and pitching in. Otherwise you’re not much more help than those you’re complaining about…
Bingo is gay! So play on….
Oh yay! A new plan! This one will work I’m sure because the homeless industry says so, despite saying the 38 previous plans would also work.
The more the money spent, the more the problem gets worse.
So if there are 6,000 people in shelters and 10,000 on the streets, where did the 250 million go ?
That’s $15,000 per person
It can’t be spent servicing the people on the street and if some is going to help them, then how much. It can’t be 15 k.
Are they saying that it costs 250 million to house 6,000 people.
The math doesn’t work.
We need an accounting of how the money is spent.
Yes. Accountability from all the homeless agencies. Maybe too some kind of centralization. Does anyone have any idea where all the money went and whether it was in any effective and what we got for all the money spent? Accountability please.
$250 million per year for 10000 homeless. It’s $25000 per person, $2000 a month.. cannot we find a rental at $2000 per month in Seattle? Why do we need a new board? Why do we need a incompetent RHA org? Their yearly budget should be able to cover the rent for all homeless in Seattle… Pathetic bureaucracy…
That’s the point… The goal is less about housing people, but using it as an excuse to get government funding.
I need to get on this advisory board. I’ve been working with him the homeless community for the past 10 years through various organizations.
I think they mean people who’ve experienced homelessness.
This is personal to me
I once was a single mother of 2 in Bellevue. My mother who lived on Mercer island said if I can’t afford my children put them in foster care. I had just ended an abusive relationship he abandoned us so it was just me and these 2 little girls. First thing I called for shelters, all were full. I asked how this was possible they said, “currently there are over 3,000 women and children on the streets with out shelter”. I fought hard. I took my husbands car out of storage which we slept in for a few days I mustered all my strength to pull up to the one place I knew I’d get a job and parked directly outside. I rolled down the windows and blasted the ac and held back tears. I walked myself into hooters to get a job. I did get the job. I ran back outside held my daughters and cried. So you can’t get a job with out childcare and you can’t get childcare with out a job. I got emergency assistance for rent for a one bedroom. Only thing is my horror story continues because the system is meant to trap you not help excel you. If you do finally get housing which is a 3 year wait, you are not allowed to attend school. I now own a small business downtown Redmond. But it is people like me that should be on that committee that truely know the ends and outs. There needs to be real solutions that prop people up not hold their face to the ground with no chance of looking to a brighter future. This is my lived experience and in my opinion I should be a voice that helps guide people.
I agree!
Thanks for writing this and giving us your perspective. All the best to you.
Please bifurcate the demographics of homeless population. People would have a much greater understanding and empathy of what homeless means in terms of solutions. Addicts don’t need homes they need 6 months in patient care. Single Mom’s working need other forms of subsidy, and so on. Happy to do an interview to talk about what this 10,000 population is and how to help each segment.
Are you Andrea Suarez?
They need to audit the spending of the agencies involved in the spending of said funding. I personally know quite a few of the person’s placed in housing from local encampments and it’s outright ridiculous what the caseworkers are able to purchase for an individual to go along with their housing. $600 worth of top shelf art supplies and first a $400 cage and then another $900 for a larger habitation for a persons pet turtle in a studio apartment? If the guy had actually been an artist I would halfway understand that purchase but the funding is for housing human beings not turtles and the allowances that each individual can access after they are placed for whatever they need is where the money’s being misused and more than likely taken by persons that are allowed to access and distribute the money that’s needed to house people. The process it takes to actually get assistance if your not in one of the encampment closures is really not effective at all. Why because the money is being spent on lunches, coffees, and whatever else said non profit agents that work for companies that purchase buildings in high retail areas and build expensive new apartments so the homeless people with mental illnesses can destroy them instead of using facilities that might simply need remodel and putting them into sections so public safety isn’t such a concern. 80% of the federal funding for housing doesn’t even get spent on housing. They have to find, purchase, build, then
hire non profits to do outreach, and then create accomodations for these persons to make them comfortable enough to want to stay inside of their new homes and not go back out to these encampments and yet how disappointing it must be when they find one of their clients still hanging outside using while they are trying to help other individuals at another location. There has got to be some order in this situation. It’s a waste of money. As soon as the free ride or the eviction prevention funds run out these people will only return back to the street again and it’s a neverending cycle because there’s not enough decent paying jobs and the rent is too high. Section 8 could also do something about allowing non family members to be added to current vouture recipients leases if the Tennant agrees or requests for it so some of the funding already in use could be maximized instead of being in fear of sanction for having someone who’s not on the lease staying with them. That right there could help alleviate alot of the issue in itself. Think about all the friends of homeless persons that are simply struggling because of bills and not affected by addiction or mental health issues… If they could double up with a friend that has housing and figure a strategic plan to make that work out on a larger scale or give incentives to those who are willing to take a individual or family in and help them find their way to becoming self sufficient maybe the outcomes could be different because the company we keep has a large influence on our bigger picture in life. When surrounded by others in same situation one tends to get comfortable and that has alot to do with why our city looks like a garbage can in many areas and people just don’t give a sh-! but they will take one wherever they can because there’s no facilities for them to use. Yeah they need people that realize the problem by experience but finding one that can really identify and articulate the issues at hand can be kind of impossible because most are so busy trying to navigate their own situation that they don’t even pay attention to the rules and funding requirements. Have any of you read the actual documents on the KCRHA website? The process for everything is in full detail and it is quite interesting how it all works. It doesn’t to sum it all up. It’s agencies overspending and misusing the funds to pay themselves large salaries and have “fundraising” events where they actually use the funding to party with the money that’s meant to actually house people. It’s a bunch of rich people playing monopoly and dress up. I hope they realize they are part of the problem they complain about. Every single non profit involved is indeed making a lot of money out of nothing now aren’t they?