Seattle shelter for Native people set to close as U.S. hits highest reported level of homelessness

Homelessness in the U.S. is at a record high, according to new data released by the federal government this week. And as in previous years, Indigenous people are overrepresented among Americans experiencing homelessness.

Members of Chief Seattle Club, a nonprofit that serves Indigenous people in Seattle, are especially aware of what the homeless people in their community are up against. A 2019 permit granted by the transit authority King County Metro to turn a parking lot into Eagle Village, one of the homeless shelters managed by the nonprofit, is about to expire.

Now, there are fears that the shelter’s residents will once again face homelessness.

“They’re trying to entice people off of reservations into urban settings for a chance at prosperity, but it just ends up being a poverty trap,” Chief Seattle Club Executive Director Derrick Belgarde said.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/seattle-shelter-for-native-people-set-to-close-as-u-s-hits-highest-reported-level-of-homelessness/ar-AA1lC2yB