Since moving to Texas for school in fall of this year, I have been struck by many stark cultural differences between the cities of Seattle and Dallas. Most notable is the political contrast, as Seattle is a far lean to the left and Dallas, though also leaning left, is in the middle of a very conservative state. But another less expected difference was the matter of the homeless. In Seattle, homeless men and women are on every street corner, under every overpass, and congregated in all areas of the city. Unfortunately, the sight of a homeless person in Seattle is about as common as that of a Starbucks. I believe that the homeless occupation of Seattle is due in part to liberal leniency, and this high tolerance for large numbers of homeless is not something I have seen in Dallas. Just two weeks ago when I went running on Katy Trail, a popular paved trail just outside of SMU’s borders, I saw a paper sign posted on the fence regarding the makeshift “hobo camp” beneath the trail. It generally condemned the homeless living beneath the trail and encouraged citizens living along Katy Trail to take action in removing the camp and its occupants. Moreover, I have seen fewer than 20 homeless people in Greenville, Uptown and Deep Ellum. I can only speculate the reasons for differences in the concentration of homelessness, but below are statistics in Dallas vs. Seattle.
Number of homeless in Seattle, King County jumps 19 percent from 2015 The number -4,505 people according to Friday's One Night Count.Jan 30, 2016
2014-2015 = 21% jump (3,772 homeless); # of households returning to homelessness after exiting permanent housing=16%
2015-2016= 19% jump (4,505 homeless); # of households returning to homelessness after exiting permanent housing=12%
*35.6% mentally ill, 9.6% veterans
*More than 2,000 under age of 17
*400 documented cases of families living in places “not meant for human habitation”
Dallas stats
2015: 3,141 identified as homeless
2016: 20% increase from 2015; tally of 3,900
3,314 homeless counted in 2014
2,972 homeless counted in 2013
502 homeless youths, including runaways
65% drop in the number of chronically homeless since 2005
60% increase in homeless families since 2010
13% of homeless population who are veterans
22% of homeless who say they’re working right now
24% of homeless who are ex-offenders
