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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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
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  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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  Homelessness is soaring among Seattle students. School support workers are on the front lines

  Homelessness among Seattle Public Schools students has been on the rise over the last two years, affecting roughly 2,200 students. KUOW takes an inside look at how a district staffer goes above and beyond to help these students – and their families – in one southeast Seattle elementary school.

  • Sami West
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  Mayor Harrell promises more police accountability, balanced approach to Seattle growth

  Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell this week defended his record on housing, balancing the budget, and public safety, and promised that 2025 will bring more accountability to the Seattle Police and more business downtown.

  • Hans Anderson
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  A troubling trend. Seattle reports another 20% increase in homeless students

  More than 2,200 Seattle public school students say they are or have been homeless since the school year began. That's a nearly 20% increase from last year, when the district recorded a more than 30% jump.

  • Sami West

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