Microsoft announces they will invest $500 million towards Seattle's homelessness + affordable housing crisis

Microsoft is investing $500 million to address homelessness in the Seattle area, the company announced Wednesday. The funds will mainly go towards “preserving and building new homes for low- and middle-income residents”. There will be a smaller portion that immediately go towards homeless services and programs. A $5 million dollar grant will be given to Home Base, which is a program that offers legal aid for people facing evictions. According to NPR, there were over 11,000 homeless residents when a count was done in January 2017. 

"The lack of available housing is forcing many people — the schoolteachers, the nurses, the first responders, many others who work at companies — to endure longer and longer commutes. And we have even far worse problems for people who are homeless,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told NPR. 

Sources:

Microsoft

NPR