FULL INTERVIEW: Seattle man shares story of living in RV

Timothy Barto says people have a lot of misconceptions when they see someone living out of an RV.

"They think we aren't normal or we didn't have conventional lives at one point," Barto said.

Living in Seattle since 2015, Barto started to feel the crush of rising rent during his first two years as a Seattleite.

"We were paying $2,700 a month in Cap Hill for a two-bedroom. We couldn't afford it, so we ended up subletting it," he said.

Barto said he rented out the two rooms and lived in the basement, but his landlord forced him to stop doing that. There was also a $300 rent increase.

"It was going to be $3,000 a month and we couldn't do it," Barto said.

Since 2017, he's lived on the streets in cars and RVs, all of which, besides his current home, have been impounded for excessive tickets.

"If it gets impounded, who can pay? It's like $1,200 to get it out," Barto said.

It's a vicious cycle and a multi-faceted problem the City of Seattle is working to address. In his 2023-2024 budget, Mayor Bruce Harrell allocated $250 million for affordable housing. Ninety-five million dollars is being sent to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority for them to continue their work.

On the April Special Election Ballot, King County voters will decide on a proposed $1.25 billion, nine-year property tax levy to improve mental health services.

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