Homeless in Seattle

[Guest post by David Hingtgen in Seattle] Living in Seattle is becoming costly to many people.  Housing prices have skyrocketed in recent years making it hard for people to find affordable housing.
A leading consulting expert stated that “Poverty, single-family households and new arrivals are correlated with homelessness. Research shows that a $100 increase in rent is associated with a 15% increase in homelessness.”

In 2015, the One Night Count of homeless people held in Seattle every January stated there were about 10,300 people known to be homeless in King County (3,772 outside, plus about 6,500 in shelters, transitional housing, and so on). Two people were recently killed in a shooting at a large homeless encampment located under a stretch of freeway in Seattle dubbed “The Jungle”. This area has about 200 tents, and has drawn attention to the dilemma at hand. As a result the State of Washington is considering putting a 6ft-high barbed-wire fence around the three-mile area.


Nestled between two affluent areas of Seattle, Queen Anne and Magnolia is an industrial and mixed use neighborhood known as Interbay. 
This is where I work and where one of three RV safe lots is located. It has been greeted with mixed opinions. This safe lot is a temporary location until another is completed at a site two miles away.
Until then we will have 20 or more RVs as our neighbors. The City of Seattle has done a lot to make this a sanitary and safe environment for its inhabitants. 
Coincidentally, the city has opened a 97-unit mental health facility for the homeless directly across the street from my building.

About a week ago there was a terrible explosion and fire at one of the motor homes and two people were badly injured. I went out during a break to sketch the scene and the fellow living in a neighboring trailer started talking to me. He said that at 4:30 a.m. his trailer was shaken by the explosion. He thought it may have been a newly erected wall falling down at a construction site next door. Through his window he saw a surreal orange glow with burning paper drifting to the ground.
Since then the Police and Fire Department have maintained a presence to work with the tenants and ensure their safety.

I have been sketching life at the encampment during my breaks and at lunch, and have enjoyed chatting with the tenants as they approach to see what I’m doing.

David Hingtgen is a sign designer in Seattle, as well as an Urban Sketcher.
 His sketches can be seen on Flickr and his Facebook Page.