For close to three decades, William (Bill) Hobson has been a voice for the region’s most vulnerable chronically homeless men and women. On Monday, the Metropolitan King County Council recognized Hobson as he retires as the executive director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC).

Hobson began working for DESC in 1984 and has been its director since 1988. DESC serves over 8,000 people a year with crisis services, overnight shelter, mental health care, drug and alcohol treatment, employment services, and operates over 1,000 units of permanent supportive housing.

As the Director of DESC Hobson has become a tireless advocate for the homeless;  providing them with the services needed to get them off the streets and into stable living environments. The result of that advocacy has been 10 new housing projects, over 1,000 new units of supportive housing, and services for formerly homeless individuals.

“The legacy of Bill Hobson’s commitment and advocacy for some of the county’s most vulnerable citizens are the thousands of people he has been able to help from the streets to stability,” said Councilmember Reagan Dunn.

Under Hobson’s leadership, DESC opened 1811 Eastlake, a facility that aids homeless individuals with chronic alcohol dependency—a program that has save lives and taxpayer funds since the homeless have access to services outside of hospital emergency rooms.

Hobson has been recognized both locally (The Municipal League of King County’s “Citizen of the Year”), and nationally (Best Practice Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) for his work with the DESC.

“The solution to homelessness is not rocket science. It’s a home,” said Hobson. “We don’t have enough of them in King County, one of the richest communities in the nation. To see a dramatic decline in homelessness we have to have a dramatic uptick in funding for housing.”