The King County Regional Homelessness Authority says Seattle’s overnight shelters were able to stay below maximum capacity during late December’s bout of ice and snow including Seattle’s “coldest day in 23 years.”

The report delivered at Wednesday’s Seattle City Council meeting of the body’s Public Assets and Homelessness Committee said the city’s six overnight shelters with 374 beds operated between 65% and 77% full during the freezing holiday week from December 23rd to January 3rd. Its regional numbers with a total of 27 sites and 290 beds outside Seattle reported totals around 80% capacity during the same period.

Meanwhile, organizers say the encampments along Washington State Department of Transportation property at the Melrose and Olive onramp to I-5 have been targeted for clearance. CHS has asked WSDOT and the city’s Human Services Department for more information. Continue reading →