Seattle is currently experiencing a humanitarian crisis. More than ten thousand people live on the streets of the city as homeless individuals and their numbers continue to rise. In order to understand the crisis, an examination of the make up of the homeless population needs to be done in combination with studying the reasons for why individuals and families become homeless. It is necessary to recognize that some sections of the population are much more at risk for homelessness, including members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community, veterans, youth, and victims of abuse among many others. One section of this work will focus on a direct examination of the downtown core of the city with a walk through of the main areas where homelessness can be most evident in Seattle, while the city's Point in Time Count will provide a detailed breakdown of this population as recorded on a specific day in time. Through a clear examination of the homeless crisis, including the homeless population itself, the causes that led them to lose their homes, and the current and possible expanded efforts to fighting the crisis, a possible way to solve the homeless crisis will be shown within a set time line and budgetary framework, paving the way to moving the homeless into humane housing while also working to prevent others from losing their housing in the first place, thus preventing further increases in homelessness.
