The following editorial originally appeared in The Seattle Times:
Say the word “homelessness,” and everyone braces for misery. But recent evidence suggests that there may be reason for cautious optimism — at least regarding young people.
It’s not that the problem of youth homelessness has been eradicated, but that sustained attention to it can actually make a difference.
The state Department of Commerce issued a report last summer showing that Washington cut by 29 percent the number of young adults aged 18 to 24 who become homeless after leaving foster care, incarceration or behavioral health facilities between 2017 and 2021. On the ground, it meant 440 fewer people living in encampments and alleyways.
That is significant. And it represents a rare ray of hope after decades of inaction and worsening trends.
Specifically, while 26 percent of kids who’d aged out of foster care in 2017 quickly became homeless, that rate had dropped by more than 11 points, to 15 percent by the end of 2021.
Similar trends showed up among young people leaving state prison or juvenile rehabilitation facilities. In 2017, 358 young people who had been released from lockup were homeless within a year. The most recent available data shows that number is down to 189, a 47 percent decline.
What made the difference? Broadly speaking, sustained attention. And money. In 2018, the Legislature passed a bill, Senate Bill 6560, which demanded that the Department of Children, Youth and Families work with the Office of Homeless Youth to ensure that young people released from state systems are immediately connected with housing.
Then, in 2022, the Legislature put some ballast to those intentions by allocating $4 million to fund thoughtful interventions, from “transition planners” for kids about to leave foster care to housing subsidies.
Is it perfect? No. Is there more to do? Certainly.
After all, some 1,097 young people did become homeless after leaving state systems in 2021. And more than one-third of them were back in a mental health program, juvenile lockup or prison within the year. The vast majority, a total of 874 people, were coming out of substance abuse and mental health programs.
That’s the next place to focus, clearly, and legislators are doing so. A bill under consideration would create two residences — safe-landing sites — where up to 10 people leaving behavioral health facilities could live for a few months to get stable. The governor has endorsed this initiative in his budget to the tune of $3 million.
Lawmakers may dicker over dollars and cents. But the takeaway here is big-picture: With focused attention and careful funding, it is possible to make progress on a problem that often seems insurmountable. Keep going.
