Kate Walters

Reporter

About

Kate is a reporter at KUOW covering the homelessness crisis and related issues.

Originally from Australia, Kate studied journalism at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology before coming to work in public radio.

Kate began her career as a reporter with WXXI Public Radio in Rochester, NY, where she worked as part of a Local Journalism Center called the Innovation Trail.

At KUOW, she started as a producer on The Record before joining the news desk.

To see more of Kate's past KUOW work, visit our archive site.

Stories

  • You don't need a home to vote

    Voter registration forms require a residential address, but you don't need a home to vote. People who are homeless can register using the address of a shelter or a cross street where they camp.

  • Pearl Jam to donate $11M for Seattle homelessness

    When Pearl Jam returned to Seattle in August, the band wasn’t just intent on entertaining fans. Their two sold-out shows at Safeco Field were part of an initiative to raise money to address homelessness in the region.

  • Inside the new South Lake Union tiny house village

    The newest city-sanctioned tiny house village is set to open in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood in late October. It will serve people who are chronically homeless and may be dealing with addiction or mental health issues. Drug and alcohol use will be allowed inside the tiny houses, but not in community spaces. Residents will have to abide by a code of conduct.

  • Tiny homes are shown on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at the Licton Springs Tiny House Village on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle.

    'I'm scared.' Residents react to tiny house closures in north Seattle

    Neighbors and homeless residents are reacting to the news that a city-sanctioned tiny house village in North Seattle will close early next year. "I'm scared, I'm nervous, I just think I'll be back out on the streets in six months," said village resident Stacy Malmoe.

  • Tiny homes are shown on Wednesday, March 21, 2018, at the Licton Springs Tiny House Village on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle.

    Hated by neighbors, the tiny house village on Aurora will close

    The Licton Springs tiny house village is set to close early next year. The two-year permit for the city-authorized homeless camp on Aurora Avenue North in Seattle expires in March 2019, and the city is not looking to extend the permit or re-site the village elsewhere, according to officials.
  • Homelessness has reached crisis levels in Seattle.

    New city data show more homeless being housed this year

    The first six months of 2018 saw intense debate in Seattle over the city’s response to homelessness. As factions went to war over a tax on large businesses to pay for affordable housing and homeless services, people questioned the efficacy and accountability of existing service programs.

  • Gina Owens became homeless within a month of being evicted a few years ago. She spoke at a press conference about a study on the human cost of evictions at Seattle City Hall, Sept. 20, 2018.

    People of color are more likely to be evicted in Seattle

    A new report shows more than half the tenants that had evictions filed against them in Seattle in 2017 were people of color. Nearly half of all cases were in zip codes where the white population increased from 2011 to 2016.