Seattle youth homelessness nonprofit workers quit over shelter concerns

Sherrie Weis loved her job.

The former case manager at YouthCare’s adolescent shelter in Seattle used to work 20-hour shifts, go home, take a shower, sleep two hours and be right back at work. And she was never happier.

Weis worked with 12- to 17-year-olds, often runaways who were escaping abuse or unstable family situations. Sure, it was challenging, but the times she could help children move on to better situations made it all worth it.

Starting about six months ago, she said that no longer felt possible.

Weis said repeated layoffs left the shelter so understaffed that children missed medical appointments, expired food was left in the fridge and kids were essentially trapped in the building. She quit at the end of November and wasn’t the only staffer to resign in frustration.

“It’s against my morals to stay there,” Weis said. “I just, I can’t do it anymore.”

YouthCare leadership has been under fire as they shut down programs and lay off staff. Last summer, the organization closed two transitional housing programs and a day center and consolidated its shelter services.

This summer, the organization closed a shelter for undocumented immigrant youth, anticipating federal funding shifts.

Now, former and current employees at one of the few remaining shelters say they’re speaking out because they’re concerned about the fate of the program and the children who still need it.

“We can’t have youth sleeping out on the street,” Weis said. “That’s just absolutely nonsense.”

Staff have reported issues at the adolescent shelter to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, which funds YouthCare, and to the state, which manages licensing for youth shelters. Both agencies said they were looking into the reports.

Cut after cut

YouthCare has slashed staff repeatedly in the past two years.

The nonprofit cut a quarter of its staff in 2024.

In June, it announced it was laying off 28 additional employees. In July, YouthCare’s CEO resigned after employees signed a petition protesting the organization’s cuts and calling on her to quit.

Another 24 employees were issued layoff notices this fall.

Interim CEO Marty Hartman, who formerly ran family homelessness nonprofit Mary’s Place, said in a statement that each cut followed new funding changes and was based on the best information available at that moment. She said the most recent federal funding cuts forced previous leaders to make a difficult choice: close the adolescent shelter program or downsize it. She said they chose the latter.

“We recognize that the transition has meant shifts in schedules, roles, and responsibilities, and we’re working closely with staff to support them through it,” Hartman said.

At YouthCare’s adolescent shelter, staffing was nearly cut in half over the course of the year as a result of layoffs, terminations and unfilled departures.

The 24/7 homeless shelter for 12- to 17-year-olds had to cut its official capacity from 13 beds to eight, but staff say they’ve more realistically only been able to serve five children. And remaining employees are still being stretched to a breaking point, said Kyle Larsen, an engagement specialist at the adolescent shelter.

“There are days when I’m the only one in the building,” he said.

That’s a problem because someone must be in the building at all times, and another should be available to take clients outside, Larsen and other employees said.

Staff don’t have time to get groceries, which former engagement specialist Eric Spurling said has led to expired food in the fridge.

There are times when there isn’t anyone available to take children to their medical or dental appointments, which have had to be canceled or rescheduled.

Spurling said he asked a co-worker to file a report with Child Protective Services because a child at the shelter went without medication for their depression for a week. A spokesperson for the state Department of Children, Youth & Families said it could not comment on an active investigation.

“She was inconsolable,” Spurling said. “This client was unable to go to sleep in the middle of the night and literally crying, expressing that she needs her meds.”

Spurling said employees are left to take the heat for dropping the ball.

“We’re having to file incident reports because clients are throwing tantrums because they’re missing their appointments,” Spurling said. “Since clients are justifiably upset, there is destruction of property and threats of aggression.”

Hartman acknowledged children’s medical appointments have been rescheduled due to gaps in the staff schedule, and she said the schedule is being adjusted to prevent this. She said the shelter has always had enough food, but that staff are working to be more diligent about discarding expired food more quickly.

YouthCare said the child without medication was due to a hang-up with getting a doctor’s authorization over the Thanksgiving holiday, which has since been fixed.

‘Trapping these kids‘

An internal review by YouthCare’s Human Resources department said the organization hasn’t received any formal complaints from clients or staff about missed medical appointments, food insecurity or unsafe staffing levels. The organization said the adolescent shelter’s schedule had been changed to more effectively manage funding, and said staffing levels complied with all requirements and safety standards.

But Weis said the reality is there aren’t enough staff to take children out of the building, even for some fresh air.

“We’re trapping these kids in this shelter,” Weis said.

Weis put in her two-week notice at the end of November, and Spurling resigned about a week after.

“I don’t want to be complicit in the malpractice that is taking place,” Spurling said.

At least two others say they will as soon as they can find another job because they worry the organization is setting them up to fail.

One, who requested he remain anonymous because he’s looking for other jobs, said he’s concerned about being held liable if a child accuses him of wrongdoing and he’s the only adult around.

YouthCare employees said the adolescent shelter has increasingly relied on on-call staff since the most recent round of layoffs; these workers don’t receive benefits like full-time staff do and aren’t always trained on proper procedures.

“They’re not there every day like we are,” Spurling said. “They don’t know the intricacies of our medication policies.”

Hartman wrote in a response that using on-call staff is a common practice and said there is an ongoing process to ensure newer on-calls are fully trained. Since Spurling and Weis resigned, Hartman said YouthCare is hiring additional positions for the shelter and creating a new schedule, which she says will reduce the number of on-calls needed.

After two years of deep cuts, understaffing is a deep concern for YouthCare employees across the organization, not just the adolescent shelter, said Hogarth Russell, a representative at OPEIU Local 8, which represents the nonprofit’s employees. Russell said staff reported their workloads increasing to the point of affecting the safety of their young clients.

After rounds of layoffs, YouthCare sometimes hires employees back, but Russell said these positions often consolidate the duties of multiple positions while offering less pay.