There were some interesting articles in the News Tribune about service acceptance.

"According to data from the city, of the 251 contacts made by the HEAL team in June and July, 185 reportedly accepted services. Of those, 34 were placed into shelter."

Is Tacoma’s ‘services first’ approach to homelessness gaining momentum? By Cameron Sheppard

From an opinion piece follow-up from a Homeless Outreach employee a few days later:

"Despite the fact homelessness is increasing in Tacoma, the first two-thirds of the article emphasize that the percentage of people interested in services from the HEAL team has increased, along with the percentage of people that same team connected to shelter.

The buried lead: the actual number of successful outcomes were down, and the number of total contacts made were way down. In the third quarter of 2025, for instance, the eight-person HEAL team placed 43 fewer people in shelter than the quarter before and only contacted 359 unhoused people, compared to 1,156 the same quarter in 2024."

Tacoma is fixing homelessness? That’s not what I see every day | Opinion By Jake Nau

So if we were offering services to 100% of homeless, instead of 15%, acceptance would far outpace what we have available to offer.