Love, Justice, & Generosity

This week’s newsletter is dedicated to an article I’ve been thinking about writing for the last few months. I’ve been wrestling with the implications of moving to Seattle this past year and the ways it’s impacted those experiencing homelessness here. Next week, we’ll be back to our regular format On Love, On Justice, On Generosity. I’ve submitted this article to the Seattle Times as an Op-Ed, we’ll see if it gets published. Would love to hear from you and your thoughts on the article. Thank you for being here.

I Increased Homelessness in Seattle: Here's how I did it.

The answer is simple: I moved here.

A few friends and I who didn't grow up in Seattle thought it would be a great place to move to since we're young, just got our first jobs out of college, and could afford it - for the most part. We're all in our early twenties and wanted to live in a house together. Securing the house was a nightmare. If we didn't apply within an hour of the house posting, we didn't have a chance. After weeks of searching, we got lucky and signed a lease. Each of us had to prove an annual income over $60,000, a good credit score, and the ability to pay $3,600 upon signing, which covered first month's rent, last month's rent, and the damage deposit. Rent for the house was $4,800 a month, $1,200 per person (not including utilities). I didn't have $3,600 to spend, but luckily a friend lent me the money. I paid him back over the next few months. After jumping through all the hoops, we secured the house and our new home.

Gregg Colburn, an assistant professor at the University of Washington studying housing policy, housing affordability, and homelessness, writes in his book “Homelessness is a Housing Problem,” that “high rental costs and low vacancy rates create a challenging market for many residents in a city, and these challenges are compounded for people with low incomes and/or physical or mental health concerns.” He points to low vacancy rates and increasing rents as the leading root cause to soaring homeless populations in cities across the country. In Seattle, this is all too familiar. As more people move to Seattle, demand for housing increases, rents skyrocket, evictions follow, our homeless population grows, and the cycle continues.

There are many others like me who have moved and are moving to Seattle: young people who are willing to pay ridiculous amounts for rent and other high living expenses. Generally, we don't think about how we've increased the demand for housing by moving here. How we justify landlords increasing rents because there are so many of us in line pushing to get housing. How when we move here and celebrate, others are evicted because they can no longer afford their housing.

As I sit in my favorite coffee shop near my house writing this piece, willing to pay $7.24 for a 12 oz latte, I look at the people around me. I think about whether they know that by moving to Seattle, we've caused more people to become homeless - probably not. For those of us who have moved to the city, we must assume responsibility for how we have made the city more unaffordable. This doesn't mean that we must move or leave Seattle, but it does mean we must support policies at the city and state level to increase affordable housing for those who need it most. It means voting for initiatives that would streamline building more affordable units, even if we do have to help pay for them. It's the least we could do. We are responsible for the people who have been priced out of their homes and apartments. Let us not be passive bystanders to the issues affecting thousands of people experiencing homelessness in our city, but may we become active participants in the solutions to make our city more affordable for all.

I helped increase homelessness in Seattle, I did it by moving here. Maybe you did too.