Most turned-down Seattle outreach shelter offers were about the kind of shelter

What this chart asks

What reasons did people give when they turned down a shelter offer from Seattle's outreach team in April to June 2026?

Why it is shown this way

• Bars show each reason's share of the 2,612 declined offers, so readers can compare reasons about the kind of shelter offered with outright refusals.
• The nine largest reasons are shown by name and the 14 smaller ones are combined; every reason is listed in the dataset.
• Labels are plain-language versions of the city's categories; the city's exact wording is in the dataset.
• Horizontal bars keep the long reason labels on one line; the three reasons about the kind of shelter offered, 58% of refusals together, are highlighted.

Data and accessibility

The chart's data and images are in the strip under it.

Dataset seattle-uct-shelter-offers, analysis decline-reasons-q2-2026

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Seattle shelter offers to people living outside: accepted, declined and confirmed stays, 2023-2026

1. City of Seattle Human Services Department, Unified Care Team report to City Council, Q1 2023 (Statement of Legislative Intent HSD-301-A-001) Q1 2023 offers, accepted referrals and confirmed enrollments (Table 2)

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The city's quarterly report to the City Council on its encampment response, prepared by the department that runs the outreach team; counts come from the team's own records.

2. City of Seattle Human Services Department, Unified Care Team report to City Council, Q2 2023 Q2 2023 offers, accepted referrals and confirmed enrollments (Table 2)

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. Same series as the Q1 2023 report, prepared by the department that runs the outreach team.

3. City of Seattle Human Services Department, Unified Care Team report to City Council, Q3 2023 Q3 2023 offers, accepted referrals and confirmed enrollments (Table 2)

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. Same series as the Q1 2023 report, prepared by the department that runs the outreach team.

4. City of Seattle Human Services Department, 2023 Annual Report Full-year 2023 offers, accepted offers and confirmed enrollments

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The department's annual report, which presents its own results; the counts match its quarterly reports to the City Council.

5. City of Seattle Human Services Department, 2024 Annual Report, Addressing Homelessness section Full-year 2024 offers and accepted offers

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The department's annual report; it gives 2024 offers and acceptances but no count of confirmed enrollments.

6. City of Seattle, 2024 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2024 offers and referrals, and the statement that roughly half of 2024 referrals led to a confirmed enrollment

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Linked; FactHub repeats only the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The city's required annual report to the federal housing department on its use of federal funds.

7. City of Seattle Human Services Department, UCT Quarterly Reporting (response to Statement of Legislative Intent MO-004S-A), 2025 end-of-year report, March 24, 2026 2025 offers, accepted offers and confirmed enrollments by quarter (Figures 11-13), definitions, and Q4 2025 reasons for declining (Figure 14)

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The city's quarterly report to the City Council, prepared by the department that runs the outreach team; it reports its own results and says confirmed enrollments are undercounted.

8. City of Seattle Human Services Department, UCT Quarterly Reporting (response to Statement of Legislative Intent MO-004S-A), Q2 2026, August 14, 2026 Q1 and Q2 2026 offers, accepted offers and confirmed enrollments (Figures 11-13) and Q2 2026 reasons for declining (Figure 14)

   Retrieved November 7, 2026. Public government document. Counts are public government statistics; FactHub redistributes the counts it read.

   Reliability: Government. The newest quarterly report found; it revises Q1 2026 counts upward slightly and gives reasons for every declined offer.

Limitations

• One reason is recorded per declined offer, from what the person tells outreach staff.
• A person who turns down several offers is counted each time.
• 11% of reasons are Unknown.
• One quarter only; the city's earlier tables used some different categories, such as Wants Tiny House in 2023.