homeless shelter: Animation showing curly-headed boy with headphones

Washington State Young Adults Often End Up Homeless After Leaving Treatment

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Speaking over breakfast at a homeless drop-in center a week after arriving at the shelter, Patrick described his situation as “futile.” In that environment, he said, you don’t have the freedom to pursue your dreams. “You’re not really living a life if you are living here,” he said.

It would be another year before he found an apartment through so-called rapid rehousing, which provides federally funded rental assistance for up to 12 months. In Washington state, thousands of children and young adults like Patrick experience homelessness soon after exiting psychiatric and substance use disorder treatment.

Slideshow Focuses on Seattle Youth Experiencing Homelessness

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For the last year, the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange has been writing about youth experiencing homelessness, particularly in the Seattle area. This collection in Bokeh Focus is some of our favorite photos from that coverage.
Take a look at what Paul Joseph Brown, Karen Ducey and Matt M. McKnight found.

homelessness: 2 men with life jackets on in boat, smiling.

Seattle Counselor Sticks With Clients For Years In ‘Long Game’

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His 6-foot-4 frame folded into the small wooden sailboat, Keaton Hohl waved and shouted “Ahoy!” to each passing boat on Lake Union.

The trip was a chance for Hohl, who is 20 and experiencing homelessness, to have some fun on this cloudy August afternoon. But it was also an opportunity for him to talk about his drinking with Johnny Ohta, a chemical dependency counselor for homeless youth with Ryther, a mental health agency in Seattle. An avid sailor, Ohta is also a board member at the Center for Wooden Boats and often takes clients out sailing.

Cop punches teen jaywalker

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Across the nation people are talking about this video of a police officer punching a teenage girl in the face during an altercation in Seattle. What lead to this moment, captured by a witness with a cell phone, may well be a case study in police reaction and teenage judgment.  It started when Officer Ian Walsh spotted four girls jaywalking.  He asked them to step over to his patrol car.  According to police officials, the girls were “verbally antagonistic. “

The officer was alone on the street.  One of the teens allegedly touched his arm.  Pushing and shoving escalated into a struggle, and things quickly got out of hand. The police department at first defended the officer and blamed the girls for resisting arrest. But now the police chief is reviewing procedures and conducting an internal investigation.   The police union says the officer was justified and followed his training.