Wilson slows homelessness plan including shelter goals in roll-out of 2027 budget proposal

Mayor Katie Wilson is adjusting her homelessness plan, stretching out the timeline, funding mechanisms, and scope to bring more unhoused people indoors while managing an inherited $175 million budget deficit.

Saying her updated plan “doesn’t promise quick fixes that paper over real problems,” Wilson said this week the changes are part of her proposed budget that will be released next Tuesday, the first budget under the Wilson administration.

While Wilson’s core goals remain in place including the establishment of approximately 1,000 emergency shelter spaces paired with wraparound services, budget realities are going to slow things down. In March, the administration framed the delivery of 1,000 shelter units as a single-year objective for 2026. The September update extends that goal through the end of 2027, scheduling 960 total beds to serve an estimated 1,750 people annually across facilities established in 2026 and eight sites slated for 2027.

Fiscal and operational costs have also grown. The updated plan directs $37 million toward shelter capacity and allocates $11.2 million in 2027 toward rental assistance, eviction prevention, and legal aid. The approach places greater emphasis on acute care, citing King County survey data showing 33% of unhoused individuals experience substance use disorders and 27% report serious mental illness. The plan also incorporates the return of homelessness contracting to the city from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.

Addressing the deficit challenges, Wilson said her updated homelessness plan will rely on existing revenues redirected within the upcoming 2027–2028 budget.

Despite an executive order in the early weeks of her administration and the launch of a new Tiny House Village-focused strategy this spring, Wilson has made only slow progress on increasing the city’s shelter capacity. While Belmont Village opened with 31 new shelter homes on Capitol Hill in July, Wilson’s acceleration plan has produced only 75 additional new units at a new village in Interbay.