New year, new plans to address homelessness and health

Guest Bloggers, Karina Patel with contributions from Emely Barragan

Homelessness is a clear threat to health and human rights. As the King County Health Through Housing initiative states, “the ability to sleep in a bed, to use a bathroom, to feel safe, and to have the dignity of a place to be are foundations of health.” The treatment of homeless individuals in the United States has even been criticized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

King County is planning to address chronic homelessness in 2021 by purchasing as many as 12 hotels to permanently house homeless individuals and provide them with essential services.

The Health Through Housing initiative recognizes the homelessness crisis as “regressive” and thus urgent to address. Through a 0.1% county-wide sales tax, the initiative seeks to house 2,000 King County residents experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness by October 2022. In 2021, the goal is to create housing units for 1,500 people. King County plans to acquire single room settings like hotels, fund supportive services, and eventually convert single-room settings into permanent supportive housing.

The Seattle and King County area continues to find itself among the top three regions in the country in homelessness on a per capita basis. A volunteer-collected point-in-time count last January reported 11,751 people experiencing homelessness across King County, 53% of whom were unsheltered. Although King County has conducted a count of homeless individuals for 41 consecutive years, concerns around COVID-19 exposure has canceled this year’s count. Clearly, the Health Through Housing initiative’s goal of housing 2,000 individuals is not even close to enough.

The initial proposal said that COVID-19 creates temporary economic conditions that makes purchasing  hotels that can be immediately converted to emergency housing feasible. There have been some hotel owners that have offered their properties to the county due to their own difficulties filling hotel rooms during the pandemic.

“People experiencing chronic homelessness are bearing the brunt of inequality in our region and need housing and support services to empower their path to health and stability,” said King County Councilmember Joe McDermott in a news release.

Homelessness rates are increasing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.   The county is saying they hope to proactively address the homelessness crisis and provide essential services such as behavioral health services. However, it is clear that the county needs to increase funding allocations significantly in order to meet the housing and service needs of the community.

Homeless individuals are uniquely vulnerable to COVID-19 due to difficulties social distancing on the street and in shelters. In the initial weeks of the pandemic, King County responded by moving  unhoused  individuals out of crowded shelters and into a SeaTac Quality Inn,with the intent of reducing spread.

However, critics of this strategy point to the lack of services and resources available at these sites.  At a recently purchased hotel in Renton,  meant to shelter over 200 individuals,  there was an outbreak of COVID-19 where 35 people tested positive. At least one individual died as a result.

Not only are many homeless individuals currently dealing with being unhoused during cold winter months, they are also dealing with high risk of COVID-19 infection, and now there’s a local outbreak of Shigellosis that is disproportionately hitting the unhoused, further posing threats to health.

Shingellosis is a bacterial infection caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella. Shigellosis mainly affects the digestive system and can be spread quite easily through contaminated water and food or through contact with contaminated feces.

Since the end of October, Public Health-Seattle and King County has counted 40 total reports of Shigella infection, 22 of which occurred after December 14th, 2020. This is an increase from the average 2-3 cases reported during a typical week in 2020. Data from King County’s Public Health department reported 173 cases of Shigella in 2019 and 129 cases in 2020. Among the recent cases, 28 came from people who reported experiencing homelessness and/or unstable housing, and those who have accessed homeless services.

Homelessness is a significant social determinant of health, meaning that it is a key driver of poor health. Being unhoused is closely connected to declines in physical and mental health. Living on the street and in shelters is stressful and exposes individuals to communicable diseases, violence, malnutrition, and harmful weather. Poor health outcomes are results of factors such as the inability to control food intake, high stress, and dangerous environments. In fact, unhoused individuals have average life expectancies that are 20 years less than housed individuals.

America is deeply-rooted in meritocracy, or the idea that an individual’s outcomes are a direct result of their life choices. However, the idea of meritocracy fails to recognize the systemic oppression and marginalization that are at the root of homelessness. A lack of affordable housing is a major cause of homelessness in Seattle. It is also crucial to understand that racism has contributed to a racial wealth gap that has produced a disproportionate impact of homelessness on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

In order to address homelessness, we need to uphold individuals’ humanity and work to dismantle the systems that make individuals in our communities unwell. We need substantial public investment to prioritize housing all community members who want to be housed, as well as supports and services in place for those who may choose other living arrangements.

With the additional threats that folks are currently facing, people who may not have otherwise utilized the city’s rest stops may find them useful. Here is a link to locate one: https://www.seattle.gov/council/meet-the-council/andrew-lewis/request-a-meeting/hygiene-facilities

Tubman Center Communications Intern Karina Patel is currently studying Public Health and Law, Societies, and Justice at the University of Washington. She is an aspiring public health professional passionate about social justice, anti-racism, and diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Reach her at karinap@uw.edu. Twitter: @karinappatel

Emely Barragan, came from the Yakima Valley and is currently pursuing a degree in Public Health-Global Health with a minor in Public Policy at the University of Washington. She is passionate about advocating for equal health rights and reducing health inequalities within communities of color. Reach her at emelybdiaz@gmail.com.