ChangeWA has teamed with filmmaker V Ginny Burton to produce "Behind Closed Doors," a shocking 30-minute documentary which exposes the unsafe and drug-filled conditions within King County's low-barrier housing.
“I’m shook up. I want to get out of here. I don’t feel safe.” This statement, from a resident of the public supportive housing complex at 1811 Eastlake (on the edge of Downtown Seattle), was stated hours after the latest murder at the 75-unit low-barrier facility. 42-year-old Steve Eden was stabbed more than 20 times...
In Washington State’s two most populous counties there are two differing approaches to combatting the homelessness crisis. If past results are any indication, one county will continue to break records for the number of people who are homeless and for the number of homeless deaths, while the other will see significant positive results helping those...
We interviewed Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier on the innovative program (based on success elsewhere) his administration is using to reduce long-term homelessness. The “community first” method differs from the failed “housing first” philosophy in that it doesn’t ignore the fact that addiction and mental health are major contributors to the crisis. Executive Dammeier also...
Seattle has claimed the top spot in the nation as the city with the highest sales tax. Even with this incredible revenue stream, Seattle is now less safe. It has been misguided politicians and policies, not the lack of funds, that have made it a city where criminals feel comfortable while charities flee. Earlier this...
Last week King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced a proposal to scrap the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (KCRHA) Implementation Board, the 13-person committee of “experience in the housing and homelessness fields” which shares responsibility for managing the much-maligned authority. According to the proposal, nearly all of the board’s responsibilities...
A recently released midyear crime report from the Council on Criminal Justice revealed that while murder is down across the U.S. when compared to 2019, Seattle’s homicide rate is 50% higher than it was five years ago. Frustrated Seattle voters, fed up with the mass exodus of police officers (Seattle currently has fewer police officers...
King County Executive Dow Constantine recent battle with Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison over incarceration of criminals is the latest proof that the 15-year incumbent is stubbornly holding onto failed progressive public safety and homelessness policies, which many now blame for making conditions worse. Constantine appears stuck in 2020 as he continues to advocate combatting...
A Seattle Times report reveals that political support for the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) continues to erode as such former advocates as King County Executive Dow Constantine, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, are being very cautious about its future. But before we get to that, let’s recap the...
It was revealed earlier this week that a local non-profit organization which receives taxpayer funds, is the group behind the Friday, July 5 protests on I-5 which clogged the freeway near Boeing Field in South Seattle. Urban Family is a non-profit organization focused on youth and crime in Seattle’s Skyway neighborhood. They are funded by...
Advocates of a common sense approach to homelessness are pleased with Friday’s United States Supreme Court decision which allows local jurisdictions to again impose a ban on camping in order to stop large homeless encampments from being constructed on public property. Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling, who has been locked in a battle with King County...
Nearly all restrictions imposed on police pursuits by previous state lawmakers were removed as Initiative 2113 finally became state law on June 6. The legislature passed the citizen Initiative (along with parental notification initiative and a ban on future state income tax) after Let’s Go Washington collected more than 400,000 signatures (around 325K were needed)....
As regional homelessness numbers continue to break records, the crisis has driven the unprecedented growth in the size and cost of government in the City of Seattle, King County, and Washington State. Moreover, nearly every department, agency, commission, council and authority at all levels of government have used the crisis to justify its budget expansion...
As homelessness and drug overdose deaths continue to spiral out-of-control in Washington State, a group of more than 50 local officials have taken steps to provide alternatives to the political philosophies which they believe are at the root of the problem – progressives’ Housing First homeless strategy and Harm Reduction drug policy. Last Thursday, Future...