Individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness come from a plethora of backgrounds and have varied and unique immediate and long-term needs. If we are to meet the needs of our unhoused community members to move them indoors and into safe and stable housing, our solutions also need to be varied.
The 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count revealed that 16,868 individuals were experiencing homelessness on any given night in King County. Of that total number, 3,701 of them were members of 1,037 family units—reinforcing the need for space for families. Forty-seven percent of the 16,868 were adults experiencing substance use disorder. Thirty-seven percent were adults with a serious mental illness. Every person and family experiencing homelessness has unique needs—from the individuals experiencing mental health crises or substance use disorder, to the family who was displaced due to medical debt or rapidly rising rent, to the LGBTQIA+ minor who was kicked out of their home. The more we understand about the diverse experiences and challenges of our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness, the more we understand about the diverse solutions we need to have in our community.
We need an array of resources to meet an array of needs.
In the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) offers definitions of different solutions to homelessness:
Emergency Shelter (ES) is a facility with the primary purpose of providing temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
Emergency Shelter in King County can take on many forms—from the stand-up congregate shelters that Salvation Army staffs during severe weather, to the 20-bed overnight shelter for youth at YouthCare’s Orion Center, or the non-congregate low-barrier shelter at REST for women who have experienced sexual exploitation.
Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) is a housing model designed to provide housing assistance (project- and tenant-based) and supportive services on a long-term basis to people who were experiencing homelessness when they entered the program and are now considered to have formerly experienced homelessness. HUD’s Continuum of Care program, authorized by the McKinney-Vento Act, funds PSH and requires that the client have a disability for eligibility.
Permanent Supportive Housing in King County includes dozens of projects from organizations such as DESC, Plymouth Housing, Compass Housing Alliance, and more. For a project to be classified as PSH, they must also provide long-term supportive services to the tenants.
Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) is a housing model designed to provide temporary housing assistance to people experiencing homelessness, moving them quickly out of their experience of homelessness and into permanent housing in which they may be able to remain after the assistance ends.
Rapid Re-Housing is not a site-specific program, but can be applied to a variety of units across the region. RRH is typically distributed as financial rent support to access available units.
Transitional Housing Programs (TH) provide people experiencing homelessness a place to stay combined with supportive services for up to 24 months.
One common form of Transitional Housing in King County is Tiny Home Villages (THVs), such as LIHI’s THVs that are located throughout the greater Puget Sound region. TH is not designed to be permanent housing, but a stable and supportive step on the path toward permanent housing.
Other Permanent Housing is housing with or without services that is specifically for people who formerly experienced homelessness but does not require people to have a disability.
Other Permanent Housing in King County can include many different programs that are broadly available to help people and family who are not in need of long-term supportive services or aid. It does not only, but can include solutions like Section 8 Housing Vouchers and other income-based rental opportunities.
All of these resources are currently available in King County, but more are needed—in addition to expanding access to affordable housing—to address the magnitude of the homelessness crisis in our community.
