Most Seattle outreach shelter offers are turned down; few lead to a confirmed stay

What this chart asks

Each year, what share of Seattle's shelter offers to people living outside were turned down, and what share led to a confirmed shelter stay?

Why it is shown this way

• Two lines show the two outcomes readers ask about: offers turned down and offers that ended in a confirmed shelter stay.
• The y axis starts at zero and runs in percent of offers, so the gap between the lines is shown at true size.
• Years are ordinal because 2026 covers only January to June; it is labeled as such.
• A line chart is used so readers can hover each point to see its value.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

Half of offers

Threshold: 0.5

A reference line at 50%, so readers can see that the turned-down share is above half in every year.

Why this is marked: Marks the threshold the claim depends on (most offers); it is not a data value.

Data and accessibility

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

Dataset seattle-uct-shelter-offers, analysis annual-outcome-shares

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

• Shares are of offers, not people: the same person can be offered shelter, and decline, more than once.
• Offers are made only when a bed is available; people with no bed to offer are not counted.
• The city published no 2024 count of confirmed stays, so that point is missing.
• Confirmed stays are undercounted because about a fifth of shelter enrollments can't be matched in the data.
• Offers that were accepted but had no confirmed stay (12% of 2025 offers) are not drawn; they make up the rest of each year.