Seattle is facing a homeless crisis and while many are concerned, some are taking action. Joyous Levien, the Lead Service Coordinator at Capitol Hill Housing, isworking on a daily basis to provide affordable housing for the citizens of Seattle, along with her co-workers.

Levien has been with Capitol Hill Housing for almost two years. In that time she has helped hundreds of residents who would likely be homeless if it were not for Capitol Hill Housing and their affordable housing efforts.

Though the affordable housing efforts in Seattle have been picking up ground, it still hasn’t ended homelessness. Or at least not yet. The city still has one the largest homeless populations in the United States of America.

Since Seattle has the third largest homeless population in the United States, it makes the homeless crisis a problem that the entire city needs to work to solve. Many non-profit organizations are working to create solutions for this issue. Capitol Hill Housing is just one of many of these organizations that is trying to see Seattle end homelessness.

Some other organizations that are helping the homeless population in the Seattle area are Mary’s Place, Somali Community Services of Seattle, and the Downtown Emergency Services Center.

As of 2017, over 11,000 people in the Seattle area are without a home. This number is actually higher than last year. This time last year the estimate of homeless people in Seattle was around 10,500. This is causing the fight for solutions to become more passionate and creative.

Though 11,000 people in Seattle are without permanent housing, more than half are using emergency housing or transitional housing. And while that leaves right around 5,000 people living on the streets, in their cars, in tents, or in abandoned buildings, the number of people in temporary housing has increased since last year.

Capitol Hill Housing has been in the Seattle area since 1976 and they are hoping to continue making housing affordable for those in the city that are in need. Levien and others are dedicating their lives to creating resources and solutions for the homeless population in Seattle.