The new report on homelessness shows a catastrophe for WA
In some ways, the report to Congress last week that homelessness is surging wasn’t news in Seattle or the state.
People living under bridges has long been part of the fabric here. Plus the local count showing the largest number of homeless people ever in King County was already released here last May.
But the federal report, the 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment, was shocking to the senses anyway. At least it ought to have been. It allowed a comparison of how Seattle and Washington state are doing on homelessness relative to more than 400 other cities, counties, and states.
The picture was brutal. It ought to chasten or even embarrass local leaders. If not that, it should at least prompt some course corrections.