Last night there was over 5,000 people in the King County region that did their best to cover themselves in blankets, sheets, and sleeping bags in order to get a nights rest.

Last night over 5,000 people in the King County region fell asleep feeling unworthy or hopeless.

Last night over 5,000 people in the King County region felt belittled.

That’s just the number that a One Night Count group came across in January when trying to find how many people were sleeping outside between the hours 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. in the King County area. That’s not counting the people that weren’t seen, or the people living in shelters, or the people struggling every month to pay income for an over-priced apartment building.

This morning, while thousands of people in the King County region woke up in a house that has two or three stories, over 5,000 people in the King County region woke up wondering how they were going to get their next meal. There isn’t enough money to go around. But why is it about money when our own human race is suffering? These are human beings that are living out in the streets, and a lot of people don’t seem to care. There are many different circumstances as to why people are in this position, but it shouldn’t change the fact that they are struggling, and they need help.

There were 1,202 students in East King County school districts that were homeless during the 2014-2015 school year. Students are the future, they are supposed to be the next great generation with brilliant ideas, how can they do this when they don’t have the opportunity to live in a home? An individual earning minimum wage would have to work over 121 hours a week to afford a one bedroom apartment in Bellevue. That just isn’t fair. What do landlords keep doing though? They continue to raise the price on rents. Housing is a major issue, and it has to stop being an issue.

Today, many people are acting like homelessness is a completely normal thing. Nothing about humans living on the streets is normal. I encourage you to look into this issue. I encourage you to challenge the people who turn the other cheek as soon as they hear about homelessness. I encourage you to vote the way you need to vote to help this problem. I encourage you to let your heart break that society has allowed homelessness to become normal. Change is coming, and it’s about time it does.

Nick Goodwin, Kirkland