Seattle’s Homelessness Chief Worries Inflation Will Erode Progress
Pandemic programs are aiding the city’s efforts to ease its crisis, but rising prices loom large
An encampment near the Jose Rizal Bridge in Seattle, Washington.
Photographer: Chona Kasinger/BloombergThe head of Seattle’s new agency responding to homelessness — in a city with one of the largest unhoused populations in the US — is concerned more people are about to land on the street because of inflation and rising prices for necessities like gas.
“The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness are experiencing homelessness because of straightforward economic dynamics — they’re broke,” said Marc Dones, chief executive officer of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. “Anything that looks like it will destabilize a broader subset of people is immediately terrifying to me.”