Interview with Ginny Burton on her new book The Gabriel Plan

Ginny Burton has earned a spot in the debate on how we should respond to our region’s worsening homelessness and drug emergencies. She has overcome many tough life experiences and is now seeking to help others who are currently suffering due to failed policies. She first witnessed the problems as a drug addicted teenager who then spent years between the streets and the prison system. Now, after 13 years clean and sober, she stayed committed to solving the issues as a service provider, University of Washington graduate, facilitator of prison treatment programs, video producer, treatment advocate, and now an author.(Watch KOMO Eric Johnson’s excellent profile of Burton.)

All of Burton’s experiences have led her to write The Gabriel Plan which argues that our current response to the drug and homelessness crises are failing because they are meant to fail. This short book concisely states why more people are suffering despite more money being spent and provides a ten-point plan to reverse much of the suffering. This book is a must-read for any public officials involved in the current debate.

First, please explain why you wrote The Gabriel Plan?

I wrote The Gabriel Plan because of spiritual prompting. After years of watching people just like me be led into further destruction by the very agencies they turned to for help, I couldn’t stay silent. As a provider, I was tasked to keep people stuck in the environments they desperately wanted to escape. We can do better. The Plan is a roadmap for rational change that strengthens both lives and our nation.

Before we get into specifics, you have experienced our region’s response to the homelessness and drug crises from all sides. Why are we failing so bad despite the billions of dollars we are spending?

It’s a matter of perspective. I don’t think we’re failing. We’re accomplishing exactly what we set out to do: progress the industry-standard approach and manage these problems at scale. Social problems on US soil are a lucrative business.

You describe your 2002 spiritual prompting about the significant growth in the social services and chemical dependency markets. And in the past couple of decades, these segments have exploded. How has this growth impacted our response to the current crisis?

That 2002 prophecy identified what would become a lucrative industry, and the market responded. This growth has solidified crony capitalism in democratic metropolitan areas, now spreading nationwide as ‘best practices.’ We’ve built an entire economy on addressing symptoms rather than causes. Industries and nonprofits significantly increase revenue while lives remain unstabilized. And because there’s good money in managing the crisis, we’ve developed narratives that say people are lost causes, which conveniently justifies the perpetual cycle.

Much of the book is focused on your 10-point plan to bring about improved results. Please explain your third point – Accountability. Where are we currently lacking accountability, and how will your suggestions bring better results?

We’ve swung to the complete opposite end of the pendulum on accountability. This industry should teach self-sufficiency, but without accountability across the board for organizations, leaders, law enforcement, and people on the streets, it’s impossible. We must hold every area of this market accountable to strengthen our nation, one life at a time.

Much of the difference between the present system and the one you propose is that we currently seek to make more people dependent on government services, while you propose making people truly independent through accountability and abstinence-based treatment. Why is this independence important to the individual and positive for our community?

People caught in these cycles have the same hopes and dreams as anyone else but many never had the opportunity to learn how to build a life. Dependency costs us billions while destroying both individual dignity and national strength. True independence through education and accountability is the hard path, but it’s the only one that strengthens citizens and revives our country.

It is interesting that in your book and in your other writings, you often talk directly to service providers – a job you once held. What do you say to them? What can they do in their current role to bring about the necessary changes to our policies?

I acknowledge their moral conflict because many know the truth but have become desensitized by indoctrination and paychecks. They must stop perpetuating destructive leadership instructions, stop fearing job loss, and start standing for the humanity they once were part of. People are deteriorating because of their complicity. They need to stop supporting ineffective approaches and help people overcome the same way they did.

At the conclusion of The Gabriel Plan, you lay out what different groups of our society can do to reverse current policies. From politicians, prosecutors, and law enforcement to those currently active in their addiction and their families, you provide them each with a road map of what their actions should be. What can our readers and other community members do to truly help those who are suffering on our streets?

Demand accountability by supporting only organizations that measure intentional outcomes and strengthen people toward self-sufficiency, not managed dependency. Challenge every approach that stabilizes people in cycles of government reliance rather than teaching them to contribute and care for themselves. Know who you’re voting for and require elected officials to partner with experts who have lived experience of overcoming, not academics selling theories that keep people stuck.

Finally, what is next for you?

I’m self-marketing The Gabriel Plan and releasing my memoir mid-year while expanding my work inside prisons and partnering with the Tennessee Department of Human Services on policy transformation. I’m considering opening a facility to teach the same processes I teach in prison and climbing a couple of mountains this summer to stay grounded in the discipline transformation requires. I’ll keep writing, speaking, and working tirelessly to wake people up and move the needle toward a stronger nation, stronger lives, and safer communities.

Ginny Burton is a regular contributor to ChangeWA. Her opinion articles have also been featured in The Center Square. Burton’s videos for Modern America can be found on her YouTube channel.