Among obstacles, hope to curb homelessness
By The Herald Editorial Board
The reason that homelessness has proved so intractable — beyond the investments and policies to improve the availability of housing — are the issues that surround it, including poverty, drug and alcohol addiction, unmet behavioral health needs, public safety and the social stigma placed upon those struggling with that complex jumble.
Even among successes — individual and shared — the problem in sheer numbers does not appear to be improving.
Nationally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2023 homelessness assessment report shows a 12 percent national increase in homelessness over the previous year, with more than 650,000 people experiencing homelessness, the highest numbers recorded since the national Point-in-Time Count began in 2007.
Washington state in that same year counted 28,000 as experiencing homelessness, an 11 percent yearly increase. Snohomish County’s point-in-time count for 2023 found 1,285 unhoused, increasing by 101 from the year before. The count of people living in shelters decreased by 1 percent to a total of 594 people, while the unsheltered population increased by 18.3 percent to 691 people. More recent figures from January’s count are expected next month.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-among-obstacles-hope-to-curb-homelessness/