Homelessness in Pierce County: Despite millions in funding, residents remain skeptical
PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - Pierce County leaders are getting a clearer picture of its vulnerable population — those suffering from homelessness.
County officials report that at least 2,600 people are living on the streets, largely due to a lack of affordable housing, which has led to the rise of makeshift communities.
Pierce County has earmarked $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for a low-barrier site outside Tacoma, yet finding a suitable location remains challenging. Even after considering rural neighborhoods, county leaders are now hiring a provider to identify and manage the site.
Michael Sewell, a 64-year-old who has been homeless for ten years following a stroke, voiced skepticism about the impact of these funds.
"We will never see it," he said, expressing doubt that money allocated for the homeless would reach those in need.
Sewell has been living on G Street in Tacoma for the past few years and has witnessed various attempts to address homelessness. "There is no humanity here in this city," Sewell said, criticizing the transient and ineffective nature of current efforts.
Several other unhoused people echoed Sewell’s sentiments. One resident, Ronald Horton, 46, has been living out of his car for the past four years due to family strife.
"To me, these are my family. They help me more than anybody," Horton said, referring to his fellow homeless individuals. Despite the chaotic and often dangerous environment, Horton has avoided drug use, staying focused on his five grown children. "I live for them," he said.
Heather Moss, Director of Human Services for Pierce County, acknowledged the difficulties in establishing a substantial homeless shelter.
"It's a little harder to justify putting in a substantial site that serves homelessness, and it's a little harder to convince the population that that's something important to be a part of their community," Moss explained.
Moss says they've reached out to neighboring jurisdictions like Fife, University Place, Lakewood, Gig Harbor, and even Orting, however zoning permits do not allow for a structure like this in some of the areas' jurisdictions.
"It's not so simple, as to they don't want them," Moss said. "Some of these jurisdictions already have a pretty sizable homeless shelters and homeless service system and everybody wants to do their fair share. So there's a little bit of science around thinking about how many homeless people we have across Pierce County, where they come from, where they lived before they became homeless, and making sure that we put our shelters in the communities where they were last recently housed, not only just for an equity perspective across the county, but also for ease of services and recognizing that people often want to be housed where they know people, they know the grocery store, they know the community."
FOX 13 questioned whether or not the Pierce County Council would advocate cities to make zoning amendments, but Moss said no.
"It's not a consideration because there are so many other options that we have," Moss said.
The county faces a December 31st deadline to identify a project and secure a contract for the new shelter, but the timeline for opening its doors remains uncertain. In the long term, Pierce County leaders emphasize the need for more affordable housing to address the root cause of homelessness.
"One of the reasons that homelessness is such a pervasive problem on the West Coast is that housing is unaffordable, it's limited and it's really out of reach for a lot of the people who are at the lower end of our economic spectrum," Moss said. "I think the more that we can build housing at all price points, and particularly more at the affordable level and provide more of what we call permanent supportive housing, which also offers social services and other supports to the individuals living there. That's our real solution and getting out of our homeless crisis."
For now, the focus remains on allocating the available funds and finding a suitable provider to find a location for the shelter and operate it.
As Michael Sewell poignantly remarked, "What we do to the least of America we do to ourselves." The county's efforts to provide shelter and respect to its most vulnerable citizens continue amid significant challenges.
Pierce County leaders stress the urgency of the situation, but for residents like Horton and Sewell, skepticism remains until real change becomes visible.
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