ActionPlan

Pathways Home: Seattle’s Person-Centered Plan to Support People Experiencing Homelessness
Executive Summary
Introduction
The City of Seattle invests over $50 million in services that provide prevention, intervention, and
permanent housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. Despite these investments,
at least 4,505 men, women, and children in King County were without shelter during the One Night
Count in January 2016, which is a 19% increase over 2015 and a 40% total increase over
2014. Approximately 75% of those unsheltered individuals reside in the City of Seattle. At the same
time, our city is experiencing unprecedented economic prosperity resulting in two very different
experiences of living in Seattle. The City of Seattle envisions that every resident benefit from the
prosperity and growth of our city and its economy. Our success as a city must be defined by how we
care for our most vulnerable residents.
The current crisis is a result of complex social and economic factors at a federal, regional and local level,
but is also due to process and system inefficiencies. Rather than investing in a comprehensive
continuum of services, investments have been made very haphazardly, without true strategic direction.
HSD has not routinely engaged in a competitive funding process for homeless investments in more than
a decade. During that time, homeless investments have been made based upon legacy funding,
program advocacy, and designated budget adds. Pilot projects are not evaluated and often result in
ongoing funding regardless of their efficacy. While individual providers may be highly successful, the lack
of systemic cohesion has resulted in a system that is not designed to work efficiently to exit people out
of homelessness.
Seattle has historically been a frontrunner in the implementation of innovative homeless housing
programs, including the adoption of Housing First principles, and still has many examples of nationally
recognized programs and providers. However, in recent years, other communities have experienced
significantly greater progress towards addressing the crisis of homelessness. In comparing these more
effective cities to Seattle, it is clear that the focus on the development of a comprehensive system,
rather than exemplary individual programs, is critical to successfully reducing homelessness. Seattle is
at a critical juncture, where we have a comprehensive understanding of our system function and clear
guidance in ways to dramatically increase its efficacy. Now is the time to demonstrate our commitment
to better serving those experiencing homelessness and provide meaningful access to the necessary
services to ensure that homelessness is rare, brief and one‐time.
Context
Addressing homelessness has been a central tenant of Mayor Murray’s administration since taking office
in 2014. Focusing simultaneously on the immediate needs of those experiencing homelessness and the
long‐term strategy and resources necessary to create impactful change, Mayor Murray has outlined a
three‐pronged strategy for approaching the crisis of homelessness in our community:
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