Mayor Harrell Releases One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan and Transparency Dashboard, Announces Acquisition of Dockside Apartments

Focused on urgency, compassion, and transparency, the plan and dashboard are available at: homelessness.seattle.gov

Opening July 1 and operated by the Low Income Housing Institute, Dockside Apartments in Green Lake will serve 70 people experiencing homelessness as permanent housing

Seattle – Today, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell published the City’s One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan and public-facing dashboard – providing a transparent and interactive framework detailing his administration’s approach to the issue of homelessness and offering new data that has not been previously collected or released. Harrell also announced the acquisition of the Dockside Apartments, which will serve as permanent housing for 70 individuals experiencing homelessness.

READ: One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan 

“Issues created over decades cannot be solved overnight, but we must reject the status quo where people are left to suffer unsheltered on sidewalks and in parks. By acting with urgency and compassion we can – and will – move from crisis response to stability and sustainability,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell. “Seattle residents deserve to see a plan and progress. With a new level of transparency, the One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan was designed to display informative and important data and provide a roadmap for how the City is making progress on this crisis – today and in the long-term.”

The One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan builds on Mayor Harrell’s early work to streamline and better organize the City’s homelessness response. Entering office in January, Mayor Harrell formed the City’s Unified Care Team, bringing together multiple City departments and replacing a previous model where departments operated in silos. The Harrell Administration for the first time combined six different databases into one, laying the groundwork for the City to collect, manage, and display the never-before-seen data included in the plan’s dashboard.

Driven by data, the One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan identifies priorities and actions to make progress on the City‘s objectives to get people indoors, create places for people to live, and develop innovative and regional solutions to ensure sustainable progress. Key priorities and actions include:

• Driving a regional approach by providing $118 million to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) this year, representing approximately 70% of their total budget, as they develop, communicate, and execute a regional strategy to end homelessness in Seattle.
• Surveying, inspecting, and verifying encampment sites and providing a publicly accessible map of encampment concentration by neighborhood citywide.
• Providing outreach to help move people indoors, and tracking offers of shelter by displaying a transparent count over time.
• Keeping public spaces open and accessible, using objective criteria to determine which encampments to address, and restoring sites after encampments are closed.
• Identifying 2000 units of shelter and permanent housing by year’s end; 1300 units have been identified so far this year.
• Building more affordable housing faster by setting a one-year deadline for approval of all permits related to affordable housing projects to increase housing production.
• Forming a Housing Sub-Cabinet to share data, coordinate actions, and reduce barriers to swift construction of all types of housing.
• Diversifying public safety responses to help connect those in crisis to needed resources and better address health emergencies, fires, and other public safety issues arising disproportionately at and around encampments.
• Creating new ways for Seattle businesses, organizations, philanthropies, and communities to help address this crisis, including development of public-private-philanthropic partnerships, funding efforts, and volunteer opportunities.

Mayor Harrell shared the details of the One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan from the Dockside Apartments in Green Lake, where he also announced that the City is awarding $18.9 million to the Low Income Housing Institute to acquire Dockside Apartments and open the building as affordable housing this summer. Dockside will provide 70 new permanent homes for individuals experiencing homelessness, and an additional 22 homes for individuals earning up to 50% of the Area Median Income ($45,300).

“We know access to housing is both a symptom of and a solution to the homelessness crisis,” said Mayor Harrell. “This plan prioritizes creating new affordable housing and meeting immediate shelter and housing needs. Both are critical to our mission to bring people indoors and prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place. Dockside is a great example of how we can strategically deploy our resources to make an immediate impact, as we continue toward our goal of identifying 2000 new units for people experiencing homelessness this year.”

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

“We know what it takes to end homelessness. Follow the data, measure what matters, and work with collaboration and commitment. We’re grateful to continue our strong partnership with the City of Seattle to coordinate funding for solutions that will work to end the crisis in our community.” — Marc Dones, CEO, King County Regional Homelessness Authority

“Olympia and Seattle need to be working in close partnership. During the ’21-’23 budget cycle, the Legislature committed over $1 billion in capital investments for Rapid Housing, the Housing Trust Fund and Behavioral Health facilities around the state.  Seattle received funding for a number of rapid housing projects last year. With the announcement of the Mayor’s plan today and the state funds still available, the city has the opportunity to draw additional assistance from Olympia to make a difference in our community on bringing our neighbors inside. We look forward to working with Mayor Harrell to make progress.” — Senator David Frockt (46th LD)

“We know there are no shortcuts to addressing homelessness in Seattle and across our region. I’ve worked hard to strengthen the role our State government to increase and speed up access to the affordable housing and behavioral health care we know addresses homelessness. I look forward to continuing a close partnership with Mayor Harrell and other regional leaders to ensure neighbors who are living homeless quickly receive the assistance they need to gain safety and stability, and to ensure all our communities can thrive.” — Representative Nicole Macri (43rd LD)

“With 5 months in office, Mayor Harrell and his team are already making a felt impact by addressing homelessness in our city. I have seen firsthand his team address the homelessness crisis with the compassion and urgency it demands. From using a person-centered approach at Woodland Park, resulting in the highest number of placements during an encampment removal in city history, to the immediate spending of the $194 million for affordable, low-income, and permanent supportive housing – this is the work that will scale our homelessness solutions to address this crisis. When I look at Permanent Supportive Housing projects like this one, I see what needs to be and is being multiplied in every neighborhood across our city. We need to build as much housing as possible, as fast as possible, while also scaling up adequate shelter options. While we currently do not have enough shelter online to address the entire homelessness crisis, we are working as fast as possible and the 1,300 units of shelter plus permanent housing projects like this one expand the pipeline we need.” — Councilmember Dan Strauss (D6) 

“Today is a day to celebrate. We thank Mayor Harrell for his partnership and leadership to create 70 units of permanent supportive housing for our unhoused neighbors. Dockside Apartments will also provide 22 affordable studios to people who work at minimum wage and are struggling to find housing. Given that we are in the midst of this humanitarian crisis of homelessness, we need more solutions like Dockside that will change lives.”  — Sharon Lee, Executive Director, LIHI

“These are the critical elements our city needs to effectively address the humanitarian crisis in Seattle. Mayor Harrell’s plan will provide the King County Regional Homelessness Authority the resources it needs as the RHA’s outreach workers begin intensive work on the ground over the next few weeks. This plan provides thousands of shelter beds, building capacity closer to the level that this crisis demands. Mayor Harrell’s commitment to outcomes and transparency will help the community better understand the scale of homelessness in Seattle and the strategies and approaches that are most effective to bringing people inside. Our own staff helped the RHA develop a plan for downtown and we look forward to helping get more people inside and on a path to stability.” – Jon Scholes, President & CEO, Downtown Seattle Association

“Homelessness and housing are two of Seattle’s most pressing issues, and Mayor Bruce Harrell’s plan speaks to the ways our region’s largest city can drive action on both. We appreciate the Mayor emphasizing the role that the King County Regional Homelessness Authority plays in setting strategy, and the new data and transparency his plan will add to understanding the city’s work. We also appreciate the integrated approach his administration is taking to bring more housing online quickly – another top priority for the business community as well as for voters.” — Rachel Smith, President and CEO, Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

“In SODO, neighbors and small businesses regularly experience the impacts of the homelessness crisis. Mayor Harrell’s One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan not only details the state of the crisis and its impacts by leading with transparency, but also showcases commitment to progress through demonstrated action, community engagement, and immediate and long-term solutions. I look forward to working with Mayor Harrell to ensure SODO is a safe and thriving part of our city for all residents.” — Erin Goodman, Executive Director, SODO BIA

“Mayor Harrell has taken a positive step to help those who are less fortunate in the city of Seattle. We at Spud also believe that all people deserve access to clean and affordable housing. We welcome the new residents to our community.” — Pam Cordova and Craig Smith, Spud Fish and Chip, Greenlake