Seattle already has removed more homeless encampments this year than it did in all of 2017, with a sharp increase in the cleanup of camps without prior notice to residents.
The City of Seattle released new numbers this week, suggesting 220 sites have been cleared between the start of 2018 and the end of July, compared to 191 camps last year.
The data also released suggests 89 encampments were cleared since the beginning of 2018 without having to provide 72-hour notice or offers of shelter to the camp residents, a dramatic uptick compared to the previous year. That's about 40 percent of the removals this year.
The surge comes amid Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's focus on adding at least 500 more shelter spaces throughout the city, which also involves increasing Seattle's supply of tiny house villages for homeless residents.
