Homelessness in Washington State

My latest story is about my stay in Seattle. I came to Seattle from the DC area in 2006. I wanted to expand my experience with advocacy work by going to the West Coast. Now being on the West Coast, I have seen that homelessness and poverty are far bigger problems than they are on the East Coast. I have traveled up and down on the West Coast and I can tell you for a fact that the state of California is the most impoverished state on the West Coast. From Southern California to Northern California, homelessness is like a black eye on the state. Looking at Washington State and its homeless problem, I can tell you Governor Jay Inslee comes into office with a challenge ahead. Homelessness was one of the first issues that hit his desk. Working with the newspaper Real Change, and a part of the Washington State Low Income Housing Alliance, I have made trips to Olympia, Washington to speak with the state legislators about providing funding for suitable housing and have worked to persuade employers to do more hiring and raise hourly wages for low-income workers. After Seattle raised its minimum wage to fifteen dollars an hour, many people were up in arms at first.
Some businesses claimed that they would have to shut down, only to soon learn that they would be able to stay open, because business actually increased due to raising the minimum wage. There was a fear that many jobs would be lost, but actually, jobs increased by raising the minimum wage. Many businesses say that they would have to cut various benefits, which may be true. But eventually, customer purchases will increase. In fact, many places have actually had an increase in business in Washington state. Many of these benefits have been restored and that is my story on Seattle and Washington state.