Seattle and Washington state's future plans to address homelessness

People are protesting the Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's plan to increase homeless camp removals in the city.

“What do we want? Housing! When do we want it? Now!" a crowd chanted outside of Seattle City Hall Wednesday night.

Demonstrators gathered to protest Harrell's proposed budget. It includes millions of dollars to expand the Unified Care Team, the city's group that leads homeless camp clearings in Seattle.

Activist Tye Reed said camp removals lead to people being displaced and moved around town.

“This government has never worked for the average person, has never worked for working class people. We can make our voices heard and they still don't have to care," Reed said.

The mayor says the team provides necessary outreach for people experiencing homelessness.

The Seattle City Council is currently considering the mayor’s budget and will vote on it by the end of November.

At the state level, Gov. Jay Inslee is laying out his legislative strategy to address homelessness: Speed up the development of housing.

Speaking at a press event Wednesday, Inslee said he will propose a new digital permitting platform, as well as a program for building housing specifically along transit corridors.

"One of the things we need to do is find some additional places to build more housing," Inslee said. "We have some of our zoning rules now that are an unnecessary restriction on housing, and I look forward to working with legislators."

Inslee's strategy on housing for 2023 is also backed by King County Regional Homelessness Authority CEO Marc Dones.

Legislators such as Democratic Representative Nicole Macri, of Seattle, plan to bring these proposals to the table.

The state has at least 12,000 people living unhoused, according to counts conducted this year.

Inslee says the state will also need to continue clearing out un-authorized homeless encampments that are along state highways.