The shelter for unhoused people that had empty rooms, despite Seattle spending millions on it

In a bid to make progress on homelessness during the pandemic, Seattle began housing people in a shelter at the Civic Hotel, just a few blocks from the Space Needle. The space offered wraparound services and, unlike some other shelters, didn’t require its clients to be sober. 

And all in all, it seemed like things were going pretty well.

Then Seattle stopped sending people there. Rooms were empty, despite the fact that the city had committed millions of dollars to keep using the building.

A new investigation digs into why the city stopped using the Civic Hotel… and the complicated journey to finding a replacement. 

Guest:

• Ashley Hiruko, an investigative reporter at KUOW and a fellow with ProPublica. 

Related stories: 

• KUOW - Seattle paid for shelter beds that it left vacant despite a massive need for housing

Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes.

Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.