Seattle Mayor Announces Plan to Add 1,000 Shelter Beds by Year-End

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced Wednesday a plan to add 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of the year. The announcement came the same morning her senior advisor on homelessness, Jon Grant, resigned, according to the Seattle Times. Wilson replaced her chief of staff Kate Brunette Kruezer weeks earlier. City hall veteran Esther Handy was appointed to the position.

The staff changes followed disagreements between city council and mayoral staffers over how the administration was presenting itself, the Seattle Times reported. It is unclear why Grant resigned. Wilson stated during her Wednesday speech that the city has twice as many homeless people as shelter beds.

She said the city declared a state of emergency on homelessness in 2015 and has waited too long to respond with urgency.

Wilson said she has signed legislation to speed up the development process for shelters by five months to a year. Her proposal also includes increasing capacity at some sites by up to 150 beds. Alan Bridgman, president of Northwest Custom Interiors, said the industrial area is already struggling with crime and questioned what would happen if the planned tiny house community and RV lot became dangerous for the surrounding community.

Andrea Suarez, founder of the nonprofit We Heart Seattle, raised concerns about placing 100 to 250 people with multiple disabilities and vulnerabilities together. She described the situation as potentially chaotic. Wilson's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.