(The Center Square) – Between November 2024 and February 2025, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority activated its Tier 2 and Tier 3 cold weather response plans 40 times.
That translates into the opening of short-term emergency shelters and the implementation of expanded emergency operations, including coordinating with cities for additional shelter sites and supporting food distribution and transportation.
Tier 2 is activated when daily high temperatures are predicted at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or below over a three-day span or snow and rain accumulate over two inches within a 24-hour period.
Tier 3 is activated when daily high temperatures are predicted at 35 degrees Fahrenheit or below for a single day or snow and rain accumulate over four inches within a 24-hour period.
In just the first two months of 2025, 23 days were spent in the Tier 3 stage.
This winter saw more severe weather days than during a span of 63 days last summer when KCRHA activated its severe weather response for 27 days – 43% of the time.
Throughout the 40 days of severe weather response, there were 15,400 bed nights provided in emergency shelters and 497 individuals serviced each night of activation, according to a presentation to the KCRHA Governing Committee on Thursday.
More than 8,390 meals were provided during those 40 days.
When the severe weather activation takes effect, King County’s homeless population goes to existing emergency shelters. KCRHA also expands capacity at other existing emergency shelters, stands up severe weather shelters, and utilizes King County library locations to provide warming and cooling centers.
This year, the Salvation Army in Seattle, Reclaim, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, and Mary’s Place are contracted operators of activated shelters.
For Tier 3 activation in the last four months, KCRHA added capacity to shelters across the region. This includes the Salvation Army operating four different emergency shelter locations, with a total capacity of 355 beds.
KCRHA Emergency Operations Manager Tony Machacha noted that last year the Salvation Army’s operation at Exhibition Hall in Seattle had about 320 people in one night, when maximum capacity was 140.
“We learned our lesson so we have been trying to do a lot more better capacity management,” Machacha said during the Governing Committee meeting.
Since last summer, KCRHA has worked to improve its severe weather response. The main change was centralizing its response through one center. The agency used to be run by Machacha and subregional planners, which Machacha said worked well but lacked enough efficiency.
King County Councilmember Jorge Barón successfully secured $350,000 in county funding to expand severe weather shelter beds. KCRHA is also expecting annual funding from the City of Seattle for severe weather response, which is typically around $500,000.
The North King County Interlocal agreement also includes severe weather funding.
KCRHA has also established closer collaboration with south King County cities. This includes sending $40,000 to the city of Burien for 40 more severe weather response beds.
The agency is also in development with east King County cities to establish an interlocal agreement that includes funding for severe weather as well.
