Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • Can a new encampment strategy get people housed permanently? Two Seattle campers find different answers

    Mary Pilgrim is a 99-room converted-hotel shelter that provides people their own space while a case manager helps them find more permanent housing. While some have thrived in the shelter, which has provided housing for many people removed from homeless encampments and has strict hygiene and safety rules for residents, some residents and staff have encountered violence and there is a substantial amount of narcotics flowing through the shelter.

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  • Seattle Public Utilities' waste-pumping program has cut sewage spills from homeless people's RVs in half

    To help those experiencing homelessness, Seattle Public Utilities workers travel around the city knocking on RV doors and asking occupants if they need their sewage tank pumped. Some RVs are broken down and occupants can’t get to a public dump site to dispose of their waste, so wastewater spills have increased over the years. However, since the pilot program was introduced in 2020, the spills from RVs have been cut in half.

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  • A COVID ‘silver lining': You can start drug treatment over the phone — and more people are starting to

    Although COVID-19 has taken a toll on the healthcare industry, some providers and clinics have figured out a way to eliminate barriers during this time for those seeking treatment. According to the director of the Behavioral Health Institute at Harborview Medical Center in Washington, the healthcare industry has seen "at least five years worth of progress happen in four months" due to the implementation of telemedicine. While this isn't a longterm replacement for in-person visits, many doctors are reporting a rise in patient appointments via this system.

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  • Coronavirus pushed Seattle to treat homelessness differently. Will those changes last?

    Prompted by the threat of COVID-19, Seattle and King County have rapidly taken steps to protect people experiencing homelessness with responses that activists have long sought. By moving hundreds of people out of crowded shelters into hotels, installing hygiene stations, and suspending the removal of encampments, officials scrambled to prevent the spread of the virus in ways that advocates hope will remain the policy after the crisis has passed. But the crisis has also gutted government budgets, and so permanent solutions may still be elusive.

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  • More Seattleites are housing homeless people in their backyards, but it's hard to find the right fit

    In Seattle, the BLOCK project started two years ago to build houses for those experiencing homelessness in backyards. While the project has slow-going - with only 9 matches between families and an unhoused person completed - that's in part because the non-profit is incredibly deliberate about its process in recognition of some controversy the idea has recieved.

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  • Prizes for sobriety: As Washington meth use rises, this treatment is one of few that works

    Rewarding patients for sobriety greatly increases the likelihood for recovery. The approach of contingency management creates new behaviors through incentives instead of punishment. Through the Seattle Department of Veteran’s Affairs, patients in an addiction program who test negative get to draw a prize and accumulate rewards the longer they stay sober. This alternative form of treatment has proven effective in boosting patient participation—and success—in addiction programs at the Seattle VA.

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  • Many Washington foster kids become homeless. Tennessee may have found a solution.

    Washington State looks to an innovative program in Tennessee that centers around developing strong relationships between homeless youth and their case workers. The Tennessee program, which offers youth in foster care a sense of stability and family, has helped many of its participants stay off the streets; now, King County, Washington is looking to copy the program to reduce youth homelessness in the area.

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  • What can Seattle learn from cities where homelessness has dropped?

    Cities that have had the largest decreases in homelessness in the past five years, including New Orleans, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Virginia Beach, have implemented a variety of approaches. Now, other cities are taking note and learning which might work for their specific situation.

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  • In a small Washington town with no youth shelters, one woman keeps kids off the streets

    The Mason County Housing Options for Students in Transition (HOST) program is filling the county's gap of youth shelters, helping almost 200 homeless youth graduate from high school through personal relationships and screened host families. The program has show particular success in helping homeless youth from marginalized identities, including youth of color and LGBTQ+ identifying youth.

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  • Portland wanted to shelter every homeless family. The plan backfired, but it offers lessons for Seattle.

    Portland, Oregon embraced the idea of not turning anyone away from homeless shelters a couple of years ago, but the well-meaning approach quickly ballooned in costs and ultimately was unable to fulfill its promise. However, the failure provides lessons for other cities considering similar initiatives - particularly, which kind of restraints and supports must exist to make "housing as a human right" more than just a slogan.

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