Shelter

Analysis of House Bill 2266 for Housing Fairness (Passed into Washington State Law in 2026)

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Disclaimer: this summary was prepared by Coalition staff in April 2026, and is intended to help the public understand the impact and importance of HB 2266. It should not be used as legal advice. Background Since the Growth Management Act went into effect in 2021, cities and counties are not allowed to prohibit STEP housing (Shelter, Transitional Housing, Emergency Housing, and Permanent Supportive Housing) in certain zones within their jurisdictions. Unfortunately, many jurisdictions found loopholes in that law and imposed unreasonable requirements, restrictions, and barriers – many rooted in stigma or neighborhood opposition – to work around this requirement and make developing STEP housing more costly, burdensome, and vulnerable to disruption. These local regulations include opaque, complex, and arbitrary approval processes, restrictive spacing requirements (i.e., banning shelter within 1,000 feet from another shelter), and unfunded mandates for providers. These practices create barriers that make it extremely difficult to create or operate much-needed shelter and housing. In some cases, these barriers even required existing shelter to shut down. Some examples are listed below. To the best of our knowledge, these will all be unlawful once HB 2266 goes into effect later in 2026. HB 2266 closes loopholes in the Growth Management Act and paves the way for more STEP housing to be created in jurisdictions across the state. Summary Expanding siting: HB 2266 changes how cities and counties must approach siting(approving a location) for STEP housing. It requires cities and counties to allow: Limiting requirements: HB 2266 also places important limitations on what cities and counties can require as a condition of siting or developing STEP housing. Under this bill, cities/counties are generally not allowed to: If a city/county uses a design review process, that process must be administrative (done by the lead city planner, not elected officials) and it must …

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Take Action! Support the Proposed Bellevue Shelter!

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The City of Bellevue and King County are working in partnership with Congregations for the Homeless and Imagine Housing to create a permanent men’s shelter which would include 100 emergency beds, a day center and cafeteria, as well as 50 units of permanent housing. We fully support the proposed shelter, but not all community members do. Read this Seattle Times article for more information about the proposed shelter and discussions it has sparked. We encourage you to express your support to the City of Bellevue and King County! Monday, Nov. 28th at 6pm at Bellevue City Hall (450 110th Ave NE, Bellevue): The Bellevue City Council will receive an update on the proposed shelter and permanent supportive housing project at an extended study session. The meeting will begin with a 30-minute period for oral comments to the council. We encourage you to show up to this meeting and publicly express your support! If you can’t show up on the 28th, send advocacy postcards to the Bellevue City Council and King County Council (note that you need to put it in an envelope to send, it’s too big to be mailed on it’s own)! (Click here for a pdf of the postcard). Or email your comments directly to the Bellevue City Council at eastsidemensshelter@bellevuewa.gov or to key King County Councilmembers Claudia Balducci (claudia.balducci@kingcounty.gov) and Reagan Dunn (reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov). For more information on the shelter including facts on homelessness in Bellevue, community outreach efforts and FAQs, visit the city’s webpage here.

Severe Weather Shelter 2016: October 13 – October 18 information

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Major rain and windstorms expected to hit Western Washington October 13 – 16, 2016  Two strong Pacific storm systems are expected to affect the area. Please circulate and share this information with your clients, guests, and people you know who are staying outside and want to find temporary shelter inside from the high winds and major rain. Severe weather shelters tend to be opened in King County when the temperature is below 32*, this weekend the following shelters will be open due to the rain and wind storms. If these resources don’t work, encourage people to call 211 for other possible options. Click here for more shelter information from 211. This post will be frequently updated with the most recent information. If you know of new or updated information please contact hillary[at]homelessinfo[dot]org. _________________________________________________________________________ SEVERE WEATHER SHELTERS – Updated 10/17/2016 at 10am Please share information about severe weather shelters with your clients and the community.  Check back for frequent updates about openings. SEATTLE: King County Administration Building Shelter & 420 4th Ave Shelter – expanded capacity (50 additional spots in Admin Building) Location:  500 & 420 4th Avenue Downtown Seattle (Between Jefferson and James)  Line up for the shelter in front of the loading dock garage door at the corner of 4th and Jefferson. Dates open (with expanded capacity): Thursday, 10/13 – Tuesday, 10/18, (Both Admin Shelter & 420 4th Ave open regularly every other night with 50 beds each) Time: 7pm to 6am Capacity: 100 beds in Admin, 50 beds at 420 4th Ave Population: men (pets welcome at 420 shelter) Seattle City Hall Shelter Location: 600 4th Ave Dates open (with expanded capacity): Thursday, 10/13 – Tuesday, 10/18, (Open regularly with 75 beds every other night) Time: 7pm to 6am Capacity: 81 beds Population: men & women Seattle Severe Weather Shelter  – PRINT & POST THIS FLYER Location: Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion, …

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Recap: Families with Children Meeting – KidsPlus Training and Coordinated Entry for All – June 22, 2016

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Big thanks to all who were able to join us for last month’s Families with Children committee meeting. As always, it was great to see a room full of familiar and new faces! We were joined by Mary Dunbar from Kids Plus (Public Health – Seattle & King County), who offered a training on working with guests to address their mental health needs. Danielle Winslow (All Home) provided timely Coordinated Entry for All updates with the group. Highlights and resources from these two folks are below: A list of mental health services available for children can be found here. The YMCA also operates the Children’s Crisis Outreach Response System (CCORS), which offers urgent crisis outreach as well as short-term stabilization resources to children and youth in King County, as well as their families. King County Mental Health’s wraparound services offer additional supports to children to help stabilize them in the community. More information and application processes for this program can be found on the King County website. Adults and folks of all ages can access mental health services at the locations listed on this document. The Crisis Clinic is an excellent resource for folks to call if in need of immediate crisis help, and they also provide information about suicide warning signs and crisis intervention strategies. King County Crisis and Commitment Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide initial outreach services to folks not already accessing outpatient care in King County as well as evaluation of people with mental disorders for possible involuntary detention in psychiatric facilities according to the mental illness law in the State of Washington. Throughout King County and the state of Washington, low-cost and free clinics are available for folks to access mental and physical healthcare needs. Mary suggests looking into Consejo, Cornerstone, and Project Access Northwest …

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King County 2016 Men’s Winter Shelters for 150 Beds – Extended Until Further Notice

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King County Winter Response Shelters 2016 Men’s Winter Shelters for 150 Beds – Extended Until Further Notice Every year we advocate for more shelter and expanded shelter hours. Your advocacy in the fall helped open the 420 4th ave shelter (Zombie Building) for 50 beds, now spread the word that these 150 beds are open until further notice! See details below, PRINT & POST THIS PDF, and contact Janice Hougen with any questions. King County Men’s Winter Shelter  – 500 4th Avenue Open Every Until Further Notice Location:  King County Administration Building – 500 4th Avenue Downtown Seattle (Between Jefferson and James) Operator:  The Salvation Army Capacity:  100 men Hours:  7:00 PM to 6:00 AM Access:  Line up for the shelter in front of the loading dock garage door at the corner of 4th and Jefferson. King County Men’s Winter Shelter  – 420 4th Avenue (Pets Welcomed) Open Every Night Until Further Notice Location:        420 4th Avenue, Seattle (Between Jefferson and James) Operator:       The Salvation Army Capacity:        50 Men Hours:            7:00 PM to 6:00 AM Access:           Line up for the shelter in front of the loading dock garage door at the corner of 4th and Jefferson. Contact: Please contact Janice Hougen with King County Community Services Division at 206-263-9089 or janice.hougen@kingcounty.gov for further information. PDF Version of Flyer