Snohomish County lacks shelter capacity to participate in state program
EVERETT — Snohomish County officials say they lacked — and continue to lack — the shelter capacity to help in an effort to house people living on state-owned rights of way.
In total, the county has 683 shelter beds available year-round, with a little over a quarter of those open through a voucher program, according to county human services director MJ Brell Vujovic.
Snohomish County also has 157 beds that open up in cold weather conditions, bringing the total capacity to 840 shelter spaces. Once two new motels come online, that’ll add 130 rooms. That makes the upcoming total 970 shelter beds.
The new initiative, which drew staunch criticism from Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers, aims to house people living on state-owned rights of way. The local leaders decried the plan, claiming big numbers of people would be moved from outside of Everett into motels here without the city’s knowledge. It was later clarified that three people living in Everett had been moved into shelter.
https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-county-lacks-shelter-capacity-to-participate-in-state-program/
