In a story originally reported by KUOW Public Radio, Seattle Public Schools reported a significant increase in the number of students experiencing homelessness in the district – an increase of 20% as of October 2024, when the schools collect their data as required by the McKinney-Vento Act. As of October, 2,235 students had experienced homelessness at some point during the school year. That figure is up from 2023, when the school district’s count of homeless students increased by 30% over 2022.
According to a recent report released by the Department of Housing and Urban development, more than 770,000 people nationwide were counted as unhoused on a single night in January 2024, the so-called “point in time” that the report measures. However, HUD’s PIT count rarely includes homeless children, who are so often invisible. In Washington state, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reported that more than 41,000 students experienced homelessness during the 2023-2024 school year. All of these numbers have increased year over year, and especially since pandemic-era funding for housing and food assistance expired in 2022.
Global events have also contributed to the local hunger crisis. A significant number of the students affected by homelessness and food insecurity in Seattle are asylum seekers, many from war-torn nations such as Ukraine and Afghanistan. Can you imagine what that must be like for a child? The horrors of war, a sudden move to an unfamiliar country, a new language, a new school, a new way of life – and to top it off, not knowing where your family will sleep tonight, or where your next meal is coming from?
Backpack Brigade has experienced first-hand the dramatic increase in kids affected by homelessness. When we started serving at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, we expected to serve approximately 3,800 kids every week. That number rapidly increased to 4,500, and by the end of the year, we completed our largest delivery ever – almost 5,100 weekend hunger bags to 102 schools in 5 school districts around King County. We expect that number to increase dramatically with the upcoming change in administration. President-elect Trump has stated his intent to reduce funding for affordable housing development and housing vouchers and focus instead on drug treatment and mental health interventions for people experiencing chronic homelessness. With affordable housing already scarce in Seattle and its environs, we are anticipating that even more families already struggling with the increasing cost of living will need additional support.
One of the things we love about Seattle is the caring community we serve. We have so many donors, volunteers, and supporters who are committed to making sure that no child in King County will spend a weekend without food. We know that you want to help, and here are a few ideas:
Support backpack brigade by becoming a monthly donor. Your gift of $30 feeds one child for a month.
Spread awareness. Most of the children suffering from homelessness are invisible, and people aren’t aware that so many kids struggle to find a safe place to sleep and enough food to fill their growing bellies. You can find more information about weekend hunger here: https://www.backpackbrigade.org/learn. Follow, like, and share our social media posts on Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, Linked In, and You Tube.
Contact your legislators. If you agree that there should be continued federal funding for affordable housing development, let your representatives know. You can find the contact information for your Senators and Congressional Representatives here: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/WA#senators
Contact your local representatives to let them know you support increased funding for childhood development initiatives. You can find your local representative here: https://kingcounty.gov/en/shared-topics/governance-leadership/elected-officials
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