Homeless

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King County homelessness agency board votes to tighten purse strings following damning audit

Board members of the troubled King County regional homelessness agency appear committed to correcting its overspending and weak financial systems, rejecting calls from other officials to abandon it entirely.
- Amy Radil
Citing audit as 'last straw,' officials seek to dissolve King County Regional Homelessness Authority

The King County Regional Homelessness Authority has had a rocky tenure, and now there are questions about its future in the wake of a new audit released Wednesday.
- Amy Radil
Seattle mayor has 'serious concerns' for homelessness agency after audit

In the wake of a new forensic audit commissioned by Seattle and King County, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson said she has “serious concerns” about financial management at the troubled King County Regional Homelessness Authority, and that “all options are on the table.”
- Amy Radil
Seattle Mayor Wilson wants to expand tiny house villages — with volunteers’ help

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is beginning to sketch out her vision for expanding homeless shelters in Seattle. Though some big details are unclear, her administration is looking to expand tiny house villages and shelters.
- Scott Greenstone
Portland’s approach to homelessness enters a new era

In Portland, Oregon, a new mayor and the city council are in the early stages of a change of direction on tackling homelessness, even as the number of unhoused people in Multnomah County has risen to 7,500 and continues to tick upward. OPB reporter Alex Zielinski covers Portland city politics. She gave KUOW’s Kim Malcolm this update on the homelessness situation there.
- Kim Malcolm
West Seattle’s only overnight shelter set to close at the end of the year

Westside Neighbors Shelter will keep serving breakfast and dinner daily, but the overnight sleeping program has run out of money and will close at the end of the year.
- Casey Martin
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, challenger Katie Wilson spar over homelessness policy

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is trying to win a second term in office, something a sitting mayor hasn’t done in nearly two decades. Running to his left is populist progressive activist Katie Wilson, who has made the city’s response to homelessness a central issue of the race.
- Hans Anderson
Candidates to lead King County talk taxes, audits, homelessness, and mental health

The King County executive oversees the sheriff’s department, manages public health, transportation, public housing, and jails. According to the King County website, the executive leads one of the largest regional governments in the United States. And, for the first time in 16 years, there isn’t an incumbent on the ballot. Two county leaders are vying for the job. Soundside’s Libby Denkmann hosted the two candidates — Claudia Balducci and Girmay Zahilay — for a debate at the KUOW studios.
- Libby Denkmann
Seattle spent millions on hotel rooms to shelter unhoused people. Then it stopped filling them

Early last year, the city signed a $2.7 million lease extension to continue using a hotel’s rooms as shelter space. Yet despite committing to pay the rent, the city stopped sending people there.
- Ashley Hiruko
Homelessness still rising in Washington, state data shows

Homelessness is still on the rise in Washington, but data collected by the state Department of Commerce shows that the growth rate across much of the state slowed last year.
- Emily Fitzgerald/Washington State Standard

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