The far-left leader of Seattle announced the opening 50 homeless shelter units next Tuesday across the city before the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson hosted an opening ceremony Sunday at the city’s newly constructed Bayside Enhanced Shelter, local KOMO News reported.
The shelter is the first step in Wilson’s ambitious plan to create 4,000 homeless units by the end of her four-year mayoral term, and at the beginning of the world’s biggest sporting event being hosted across North America.
While the 70-square-foot single units include 24/7 services for addiction recovery, the city is allowing drugs on the new shelter site ahead of a massive influx of tourists from around the world.
“Recovery is really complicated and difficult, and so we’re not demanding that people be, you know, be abstinent when they enter this village,” Wilson told KOMO News.
Wilson’s campaign focused heavily on homelessness and the housing crisis in Seattle. The democratic socialist promised to open 1,000 homeless units during her inaugural year. The Bayside shelter will add 25 more units by the end of the month, bringing the total to 75.
“Is it failure not to have created 500 units by now?” Wilson asked Sunday.
“What I want to say is, as long as there are thousands of people sleeping unsheltered on our streets, yes — we are failing, we are failing. Collectively, we are failing.”
Take a look at her ambitious plan —
According to the KOMO report, unit residents will have access to behavioral health support for addiction, bathrooms, laundry and daily food drop-offs. This in addition to drugs being allowed on-site.
Seattle has the third-largest concentration of homeless people, behind only Los Angeles and New York City. It’s estimated that close to 16,000 individuals are homeless on any given night in Seattle, according to 2024 data.
Wilson came under intense media scrutiny last month after a viral video circulated of her walking away from a question on the city’s surging crime and homelessness problem.
The city also gained national attention when Starbucks, which is headquartered in Seattle, announced at the end of April that it would be shifting some corporate operations to Nashville.
Seattle is one of the 11 U.S. cities to host the World Cup games this summer. The first of its six games will be held on June 15.