Bellingham\u27s Housing Ecosystem

The goal of my project was to understand what puts people at risk of becoming unhoused and what solutions are the most effective in combating and preventing houselessness. To figure this out, I used Bellingham as a case study. I did research on homelessness in general, and then used that to guide my research specific to Bellingham. I focused on the causes of houselessness, the demographics of those experiencing houselessness, and the challenges that they face. Then, I researched solutions. To supplement this research, and get different perspectives specific to Bellingham, I interviewed people working in three different organizations: The City of Bellingham, Northwest Youth Services, and The Lighthouse Mission Ministries. After completing the research aspect of my project, I developed a SWOT analysis to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of Bellingham’s housing ecosystem. After analyzing these, I was able to identify the opportunities that the city has and what threatens those solutions. In this report, you will find summaries of all the different aspects of my research and the recommendations that I make based on those findings