Seattle's 16,000-Homeless Crisis Reappears After 6 World Cup Matches as Critics Say City Just Moved It
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 11
Seattle's 16,000-Homeless Crisis Reappears After 6 World Cup Matches as Critics Say City Just Moved It
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 11
Summary
Seattle’s open-air drug and homelessness crisis quickly returned after the World Cup, fueling criticism that the city cleaned up visible areas for visitors without fixing underlying problems.
Charlie Harger wrote that addiction, mental illness and housing failures did not improve during the tournament; people were simply pushed away from corners tourists might see.
Seattle spent $153.8 million on homelessness services in 2024, and local reports say nearly $1 billion over more than a decade has not stopped unsheltered homelessness from rising.
King County has about 16,000 people experiencing homelessness on a given night, underscoring the scale of a crisis Harger argued needs more accountability, treatment and removal from street conditions.