JAKE AND SPIKE

‘Leave it alone’: Jake reveals King County’s troubling homeless numbers after $2B spent

Oct 11, 2025, 5:00 AM

In April, the King County Regional Homeless Authority announced there were 16,886 homeless people in the county, a 26% increase from 2023, and the county has spent more than $2 billion in an attempt to fix the homeless crisis, according to The Seattle Times.

KIRO host Jake Skorheim questioned the idea of allocating funds towards King County’s homeless crisis in general, claiming the issue has worsened despite billions of dollars being spent on it.

“Where could that money have been spent better? It’s certainly not fixing the homeless crisis,” Jake said. “All this money, and we’ve seen not only no improvements, but we’ve seen a decrease in available services for people, and an increased number of homeless on the streets. I would rather they just leave it alone and not spend $1 than to spend $2 billion and see it grow by 26%”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to “The Jake and Spike Show” weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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