Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson shared a strategy Wednesday to reduce homelessness as the city faces a projected $175 million budget shortfall.
The plan draws on a framework developed by Community Solutions. In a Pioneer Square pilot launched ahead of World Cup matches in Seattle, outreach workers identified 80 people sleeping outside. Each was matched with services and shelter; 70 were matched to sustained shelter or housing.
Wilson said she wants to expand the approach to other parts of the city, focusing on people living outside who have the greatest impact on public spaces, parks and sidewalks. She said the work would use existing resources alongside her shelter acceleration initiative.
Her administration is proposing 960 shelter beds over two years, with 400 projected by the end of this year. Wilson had campaigned on adding 1,000 beds annually, but later said finances and the pace of city government made that goal difficult to meet.
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