Why We Do It

It should be possible for working people to afford housing and still have enough money for the basics like groceries, gas, and childcare. But in Washington State, it’s becoming harder and harder for people to afford what they need to make their lives work.

• At least 50,000 people experience homelessness every year in Washington State.
  
  
• 250,000 Washington households must make desperate choices between necessities like food and healthcare, and rent.
  
  
• Families with children make up 47% of Washington’s homeless population.
  
  
• In 2002 there were over 81,610 households turned away from emergency shelter services in Washington State. Of those turned away, over 58,257 were households with children.
  
  
• Washington’s $6.6 billion agriculture industry needs 39,000 additional units of farmworker housing, forcing hundreds of workers to seek work in other areas and resulting in the loss of millions of dollars to farmers.