Seattle Homeless Hold Sleep-Out to Fight Shelter Closures

The homeless community of Seattle Washington has taken a hard hit over the past few months due to shelter closures. Fifteen Seattle shelters are being closed due to spending cuts, displacing over 300 homeless people and families. The lack of funding is due to the loss of federal funding through a FEMA grant.

Many homeless feel their safety is now at jeopardy without the protection of the shelters. These shelters provided a sense of security for individuals who would otherwise be forced to sleep on the streets. Fear of moving to the streets has been elevated reports that six homeless living on the streets have died in the past 2 months.

The homeless community and activists have banded together in protest of these closures and are seeking funds to re-open the shelters. They are currently staging a "sleep-out" in downtown Seattle. Many are stationed outside the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the hopes of growing attention to their plight and the potential for receiving a grant to replace the one they lost.

Activists argue shelter is a basic human right, and thus these closures are inhumane and must be reversed for the protection of the homeless community of Seattle.

If you are interested in helping homeless in your community, please visit these sites to see how you can start making a difference:
http://www.sharewheel.org/
http://www.backonmyfeet.org/
http://www.upwardboundhouse.org/