"It's your castle," Williams said. "Having an apartment, even when it's bad out there, at least you can shut the world out."

But the security and peace Williams treasured proved fleeting, as a gap in key social services not tuned to Seattle’s high rents yawned wide enough for the soft-spoken 51-year-old to fall through. He’s homeless again, just months after moving in.

Williams did nothing wrong — his rent was paid, he kept his appointments. He took daily trips to receive a dose of methadone that keeps his heroin addiction in check. He didn't run afoul of the building's rules or cause trouble.

He did exactly what the system told him to do. And because he did so, he lost his home.

When Williams moved in, his housing was covered by a state housing benefit, the Housing and Essential Needs program. It's a temporary stopgap for people on their way to gaining federal disability status. Williams has Type 2 diabetes, which causes pain in his legs, making it difficult for him to work. Even before being connected to the housing program, Williams had applied for federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI), for people with permanent disabilities.

What Williams did not expect was that qualifying for federal disability payments would result in his being kicked off the state housing assistance — that's how the program was designed to work.

Even five years ago, that transition from one to the next made sense. The federal benefit was an improvement from the state's stopgap. For people with disabilities reliant on social services, the progression represented a step up the ladder.

But thanks to skyrocketing King County rents and lagging disability income, support from the state’s housing program now stretches further than SSI for people who are permanently unable to work. And yet the state benefits are still considered a bridge, even though the "bridge" has become more valuable than the benefit it leads to.

So when Williams qualified for federal disability four months after moving into the newly renovated Cambridge Apartments, he could no longer make rent, even in a subsidized apartment considered affordable housing. With almost no warning, he tumbled back into homelessness, where he began.

"I didn't know I was going to get blindsided by that," Williams said.

Dozens of renters living in buildings managed by Bellwether Housing are facing a similar transition. Those experiencing a temporary disability may qualify for a higher federal benefit, and may also supplement their income with work. But those whose ability to work is permanently hindered are left scrambling to find housing elsewhere or returning to homelessness.

"They put me right back in the street where…," Williams said haltingly, fighting tears. "I get choked up talking about it. They put me in a situation right back where I just came from. It's been rough."