First Lady Trudi Inslee: Homeless youth are ‘like all of us once were’
Jan 24, 2017, 12:45 PM
Child Protective Services was called after three homeless children were found alone in a tent under the West Seattle Bridge. (KIRO 7)
(KIRO 7)
Extending help to homeless youth who age out of foster care was one of the driving factors announced Jan. 24 by the Governor’s Office.
The state’s homeless youth task force also targeted a need to reduce juvenile detentions, while improving access to education.
Homeless kids: Big city problem, small town solutions
First Lady Trudi Inslee says Washington also needs to increase teens’ access to addiction help.
“In a lot of our state there are no facilities for young people to find a place to find help,” she said.
“These young people are like all of us once were … we just want to be like everyone else,” she added. “We want to go to school have friends, belong to clubs, and have a normal life. They want to be productive independent adults and active members of their community. We owe it to them to give them the best opportunities in life and this starts with a safe, stable place to call home.”
Last year, the legislature approved a $3.7 million budget increase for these programs to prevent children and young adults from being homeless.
At least 13,000 “young people” were without a safe and stable home last year, according to a 2016 report from the Office of Homeless Youth. Homeless youth considered in the report are for people ages 12 through 24, who are living on their own without a parent or guardian, and without a stable place to live.
Overall, the number of homeless people living in Washington rose by more than 7 percent in 2016 over the previous year. According to a recent report, there were 1,408 additional people sleeping outside and in shelters.
The increase is the second-largest in the country, falling only behind California, the Associated Press reports. In all, there were 20,827 homeless people counted in Washington.
While Washington’s homeless population increased, the number of homeless people declined in 37 states between 2015 and 2016, according to the report.
Homelessness has grown in the Seattle-King County area while it has dropped in Everett-Snohomish County, Tacoma-Pierce County, Spokane, Yakima, Vancouver-Clark County and the rest of Washington.
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