According to the Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, published in January 2022, the number of people experiencing homelessness in the Emerald City has increased 25 percent in the past decade; yet, Seattle is home to the wealthiest companies and individuals, silencing its own great income inequalities. We pass people who are unhoused on the streets, and when they ask if we have spare change, we say, “No,” just as we are heading to get our nails done — hoping that something bigger will fix all our societal problems. This is not to place guilt on us, but rather to say that I understand. When we are faced with an enormous issue such as homelessness, it feels overwhelming to come up with actionable solutions. It often leaves us feeling apathetic. I’m here to tell you that an individual does not choose homelessness; rather, it’s a structural problem, and you can do something about it.
Why has homelessness increased so dramatically? One driving factor is the lack of affordable housing. The Seattle Times reported that rent rose to about $1,682 per month for an apartment in 2017. In the same year, McKinsey and Company explained there were 11,643 people experiencing homelessness counted in a single night in Seattle, increasing 9 percent from 2014. Unfortunately, these statistics are only an underestimate, because people experiencing homelessness with infants and children tend to hide from the public eye in order to stay safe and minimize judgment. Thus, they are not always counted as a part of the statistics above.
Why are we talking about pregnancy and homelessness? According to an article published in Maternal and Child Health Journal in November 2014, people experiencing prenatal homelessness have 1.43 increased odds of giving birth to a child with low birth weight (LBW) compared to those who do not experience homelessness. LBW is defined by the National Cancer Institute to be a baby born less than 2500 grams or less than 5.51 pounds. Between 2015 and 2019, the Washington State Department of Health reported that 2.6 percent of babies were born with LBW in King County, totaling 2,521 babies. This number may seem quite insignificant. However, babies of Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander and Hispanic origin are disproportionately impacted — having a prevalence of 10.8, 8.4, 7.5 and 6.9 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, 5.8 percent of babies of white origin were born with LBW. These statistics emphasize that homelessness subjects pregnant people to physical and emotional distress, which particularly impacts BIPOC children. In turn, babies are at higher risk for short and long-term adverse health outcomes including blindness, deafness, high blood pressure and decreased ability to fight off infections, as described in an article published in The Future of Children in the spring of 1995.
It’s hard to escape these circumstances because just like the account above, the lack of stratification from social status produces cyclical health outcomes across generations. Consequently, homelessness should be thought of as a complex system of interwoven public health issues and socioeconomic factors. When pregnant people have a hard time finding suitable housing alternatives, they get stressed and have trouble keeping a stable job. They then have less money for nourishing food for their fetus, which increases the risk of LBW.
What can you do?
First, understand that homelessness is a structural issue that is ultimately caused by a lack of affordable housing, disproportionately impacting those of lower socioeconomic circumstances. Because homelessness is caught within a complex system of public health and various social factors, those that are left to suffer the inequities of the system have adverse health outcomes like LBW.
Second, use this structural understanding to vote and change the landscape of taxation to advocate for affordable housing. Seattle was set to follow a targeted tax approach proposed by Council Bill 119250 that aimed to raise more money from massive corporations like Amazon, Expedia, Starbucks and Alaska Air. However, this was repealed a month later due to major backlash, according to Oregon Law Review’s explanation of Seattle taxes, which was published in 2020. This tax money could have been allocated to increase housing affordability, but instead, the current median gross rent in Seattle is $1,614 — the highest it has ever been. That only exacerbates the affordable housing crisis, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This goes to show that Seattle has the capability and resources to increase affordable housing; it’s just a matter of reaching consensus over an ethical and moral cause — the right to housing and health.
You have the power to close the gap of health inequities between people of low and high-income status by advocating for legislation like Council Bill 119250. You have the power to grant housing and health as a human right. You have the power to redistribute equity no matter a person’s income status — to ensure that their baby’s health is no longer controlled by an inequitable system.
Mathi Ngamsiripol is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health.
Read more of the Mar. 30-Apr. 5, 2022 issue.