A year-in-review through ChangeWA’s top 2025 articles
As 2025 comes to an end, ChangeWA will look back by revisiting some of our most popular articles of the year.
ChangeWA has quickly become the leading source of reliable information on the homelessness issue as more of our neighbors continue to suffer in crime- and drug-filled encampments and temporary housing as billions of tax dollars are wasted building expensive bureaucracies. While most of our articles described what was occurring in the Puget Sound region, we also covered important developments in Spokane and Vancouver.
Here are a few of 2025’s top homelessness articles:
Washington: The destination state for America’s homeless population – June 27, 2025
As part of ChangeWA’s three-part series on the costs of homelessness, we examined how people who are homeless elsewhere in the country are moving to Washington State. Some homeless individuals arrive believing they can find a job in our state’s hi-tech industry, while many others move to our state due to Washington’s reputation for lax drug enforcement and the thousands of taxpayer-funded services.
Surveys of homeless individuals in Seattle and Spokane found that half experienced homelessness elsewhere before moving to Washington, two-thirds do not have any family members in their current community, and more than 80% were born elsewhere. King County offers 5,000 services available to the homeless and Dow Constantine’s hotel purchases, cost taxpayers more than $333,000 a unit.
‘Housing First’ in Washington: A Decade of Failure and Tragedy – October 30, 2025
November 2 marked the 10-year anniversary of King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Ed Murray declaring homelessness an “emergency” in 2015. Yet this milestone went unrecognized by the region’s political establishment due to the terrible results of their progressive policies. Billions have been spent and huge permanent bureaucracies have been built at all levels of government, yet homelessness still increased 68% (from 10,047 to 16,848) in the past decade under Housing First policies.
Not surprisingly, the Seattle Times failed to recognize the 10-year anniversary of the Homelessness Emergency (and the subsequent failure of Housing First policies). This was the latest example of how the Times’ coverage of the issue failed to meet the newspaper’s own mission statement, vision, and priorities. The Seattle Times claims to “hold the powerful accountable,” yet not once has the paper (with three journalists assigned to the homelessness issue) identified or questioned those responsible for the homelessness rate rising 68% in the past decade.
We should note that the week we posted our concerns with the Times’ coverage, the newspaper continued to demonstrate its bias coverage by taking Governor Bob Ferguson on a weekday matinee movie date. While the newspaper gave Ferguson free reign to condemn his political opponents in the interview, he was never asked about the issues he is responsible for, such as the record breaking homelessness and drug overdose numbers, declining education scores, taxes causing businesses to close or leave, another large budget shortfall due to out of control spending, or the crisis in girls’ sports.
ChangeWA also wrote several articles on the region’s failed drug policies (known commonly as “Harm Reduction”).
Your tax dollars are promoting fentanyl use as a “friend-building” activity – June 20, 2025
The region’s politicians defended their “Harm Reduction” drug policies as fentanyl continued to kill thousands of Washington State residents. Instead of focusing on preventative measures or arresting and detaining those who distribute the lethal drug, our state government focused its efforts on encouraging addicts to do their drugs with friends (so they can apply naloxone if there is an overdose). The Washington State Department of Health used taxpayer funds to produce ads in which drugs deadly consequences were never mentioned and promoted fentanyl use as a normal social activity.
“Safer Supply” policy is another failed harm reduction drug strategy – July 18, 2025
Our friend Ginny Burton authored a Center Square article dispelling the false narrative around the progressives’ latest drug policy, “Safer Supply.” The state proposal is for government to purchase heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other lethal drugs, and distribute them to addicts. Instead of helping people find meaningful treatment, our state wants addicts to be dependent on the government to provide them drugs. This is the ultimate example of government enabling, instead of helping, drug addicts.
As one-party control over government continues in King County and Washington State, government accountability appears to have little value to career politicians.
Billions Wasted, Zero Consequences: No One Fired, Demoted, or Punished – September 17, 2025
Over the course of a couple of weeks, three news stories revealed the tremendous waste and likely fraud that is currently taking place in all levels of government. This has been allowed to happen due to lack of accountability from one-party control.
- Washington State scrapped a $300 million upgrade of the Department of Labor and Industries computer system which had been in development for a decade.
- Sound Transit announced it has a $35 billion shortfall as massive cost-overruns, missed deadlines, and low fare-paying ridership will cost every taxpayer thousands more. Currently, the average resident in Sound Transit’s taxing district (urban areas within King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties) is responsible for $55,000 of the system’s $185 billion price tag for the already out-of-date light rail system.
- An audit revealed that the King County Department of Community & Human Services only had paperwork for 1% of its $1.8 billion grant program. Auditors were shocked by the lack of accountability and stated that massive fraud has likely taken place.
ChangeWA called for more independent audits of government programs since Democrat legislators refuse to hold government officials responsible for their wasteful and possible criminal activities.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. While much of 2025 exposed systemic failure, waste, and ideological rigidity, ChangeWA also highlighted examples of real leadership and practical solutions that are actually improving lives.
Three women champion common-sense homelessness policies – March 7, 2025
In one of our most hopeful and widely shared pieces of the year, ChangeWA profiled three women who are pushing back against the failed status quo and championing policies rooted in accountability, treatment, and public safety. Rather than defending billion-dollar bureaucracies or ideological experiments, these leaders focus on outcomes — helping people off the streets, connecting them with meaningful treatment, and restoring order and compassion to Washington’s communities.
Their work stands in sharp contrast to the policies that have dominated Seattle and King County for the past decade. It is proof that homelessness is not an unsolvable crisis — but it does require courage, honesty, and a willingness to abandon approaches that clearly are not working. These women represent the kind of leadership Washington needs more of if we are serious about improving the lives of those experiencing homelessness and the communities impacted by it.
—
Once again, thank you for your on-going support of ChangeWA. We will continue to be the leading voice to bring necessary changes to our region’s disastrous homelessness and drug policies and seek more transparency/accountability from our government and politicians.
This work is only possible because of supporters who believe Washington can do better. A donation to Change Washington helps sustain independent reporting and amplify common-sense solutions that improve lives and strengthen our communities.
Enjoy the holidays, and we look forward to starting the new year together — continuing to highlight real solutions, demand accountability, and elevate the voices working to bring meaningful change to our communities.