Government Spending on Homelessness
Impact of Government Assistance during COVID-19
According to Daily Caller, despite the government spending lots of money over $200 million to help homelessness in Washington, the number of people without homes keeps going up. Even though agencies like HUD, VA, and HHS have given a lot of money the homeless population in Washington grew by about 20% from 2007 to 2023. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic when there was a lot of homelessness in Washington help from the government homelessness still went up by 15.6% from 2020 to 2022.
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Persistent Homelessness in Washington
Despite government efforts and spending on emergency shelters and housing programs, homelessness in Washington remains a significant challenge. While states like Texas and Florida saw reductions in homelessness during the pandemic, Washington continues to struggle exacerbated by high rents and the cessation of pandemic housing assistance. Despite investments in initiatives like the King County Regional Homeless Authority, factors like population growth and rising living costs contribute to the complexity of addressing homelessness in the state particularly in areas like Seattle.