Snohomish County homeless gains threatened by halted HUD funding

(The Center Square) – Snohomish County Human Services sees the 1.8% decrease in homelessness in 2025 as a success, but is concerned that at-risk federal funding could negatively impact that trend.

Snohomish County’s homeless population decreased for the second year in a row to a total of 1,140 homeless people in the region this year. The count is required as part of the annual Point-in-Time, or PIT, count by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD. It is one of the tools used to inform priorities for federal, state and local funding to combat homelessness.

Snohomish County Human Services told The Center Square that any decrease in homelessness represents a positive trend, especially as housing costs increase and resources grow more scarce.

As previously reported by The Center Square, funding for homeless initiatives are currently at risk due to new conditions placed on them by HUD. Snohomish County joined King and Pierce Counties in a lawsuit against HUD in an attempt to prevent the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for public transit and homelessness assistance.

Snohomish County was already awarded $16.7 million in Continuum of Care funding. According to Human Services, nearly 500 people may lose the permanent supportive housing assistance and supports without the federal funding.

“Without the Continuum of Care funding from HUD, many households would face evictions and become unhoused once again,” Human Services wrote. “This would have a devastating impact on the lives of vulnerable individuals and our community as a whole.”

The county has multiple services and programs as part of its housing continuum that help stabilize unhoused people. The Snohomish County Permanent Supportive Housing program has shown evidence that the permanent housing with supportive services model has been the most effective in getting people into housing, including those with serious health conditions, or with serious mental illness, and veterans living with traumatic brain injuries.

“The Permanent Supportive Housing Program provides affordable rents and services as the foundation for these individuals to live in their community and improve their lives in stable housing,” Snohomish County Human Services Department told The Center Square in an email.

The county is currently working on projects to add supportive housing capacity, including the opening of two “New Start Centers” in Edmonds and Everett. These emergency bridge housing programs provide wraparound services with the primary goals of stabilizing behavior, meeting basic needs, and assisting the individuals served in exiting to permanent housing.

Human Services expects the New Start Centers to have a positive impact in reducing homelessness. However, the department is still concerned about the possibility that homelessness would increase if federal funding is lost for existing programs and supports.