Seattle is set to open 50 homeless shelter units next Tuesday, a number dramatically short of the 500 promised before the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Democratic Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson hosted an opening ceremony Sunday at the city’s newly constructed Bayside Enhanced Shelter, local KOMO News reported. The shelter is the first step in Wilson’s ambitious plan to create 4,000 homeless units by the end of her four-year mayoral term.
While the 70-square-foot single units include 24/7 services for addiction recovery, the city is allowing drugs on the new shelter site. “Recovery is really complicated and difficult, and so we’re not demanding that people be, you know, be abstinent when they enter this village,” Wilson told KOMO News. (RELATED: Socialist Blue City Mayor, Police Guild Butt Heads Over Whether Arresting Drug Users A Good Thing)
Wilson’s campaign focused heavily on the homelessness and housing crisis in Seattle. The democratic socialist promised to open 1,000 homeless units during her inaugural year. The Bayside shelter will add 25 more units by the end of the month, bringing the total to 75.
“Is it failure not to have created 500 units by now?” Wilson asked Sunday. “What I want to say is, as long as there are thousands of people sleeping unsheltered on our streets, yes — we are failing, we are failing. Collectively, we are failing.”
Unit residents will have access to behavioral health support for addiction, bathrooms, laundry and daily food drop-offs. However, the addiction and recovery treatments are not mandatory for residents — a point stressed by city officials.
Around 16,000 individuals are homeless on any given night in Seattle, according to 2024 data. Seattle has the third-largest concentration of homeless people, behind only Los Angeles and New York City. (RELATED: Wheels Start Coming Off Socialist Seattle Mayor’s Admin As Homeless Housing Scheme Sputters)
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MARCH 11: A homeless encampment, known informally as “Dope Slope” stands covered in garbage near downtown Seattle on March 11, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. The city government is currently working to remove such encampments from shared spaces throughout Seattle. According to a recent report commissioned by Seattle Councilmember Andrew Lewis, the COVID-19 pandemic put undue pressure on the city’s shelter system and delayed funds for new housing, leading to an increase in homelessness. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
Mayor Wilson came under media scrutiny last month after a viral video circulated of her walking away from a question on the city’s surging crime and homelessness problem. The city also gained national attention when Starbucks, which houses its headquarters in Seattle, announced at the end of April it would be shifting some corporate operations to Nashville.
Seattle is one of the 11 U.S. cities to host the World Cup games this summer. The first of its six games will be held June 15.
Mayor Wilson’s office did not respond immediately to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.