There is increasing discussion among community leaders for expanding the use of involuntary treatment for individuals with severe substance abuse issues. This strategy would largely benefit those currently living on the streets and classified as “chronically homeless.” However, to effectively assist these individuals, there must be a significant change in local and state government’s spending...
In the decade since homelessness was declared an emergency, almost every progressive measure has led to an increase in homelessness and more suffering on the streets. Going back to the beginning of the millennium, unchecked extreme measures have made the problem worse as these “fixes” fail to address the true culprits – addiction and mental...
Many Seattle voters are unaware that a special election is taking place next week (Tuesday, February 11 deadline to return your ballot if you lived in the city) where the progressives are seeking to increase taxes on Seattle employers to fund the expansion of yet another local housing bureaucracy – this time for the City...
Since Washington’s homelessness problem reached crisis status in the early 2010’s, nearly every housing and homeless measure that has received government support (and our tax dollars) has resulted in higher homeless numbers and/or lowered our state’s housing supply. Currently, Washington has one of the worst homeless problems in the country (with thousands remaining untreated for...
In the latest condemnation of “Housing First” homeless policies, an overwhelming 80% of Washington State voters believe current homeless strategies have failed and that the region’s political leadership has made the crisis even worse. This is one of many public opinions learned in a new 800-voter survey conducted by Napolitan News Services . The wide-ranging...
How will history view Governor Jay Inslee’s 12 years in office and his leadership on the homeless crisis? If historians look at the facts, they will not be kind to the career politician when it comes to one of the major issues of the day. Besides being an obedient follower of the controversial Housing First...
This is the concluding article of ChangeWA’s two-part review of 2024. Last week, we discussed successful citizen efforts to correct the mistakes made by politicians on crime and drug issues. This article examines why our region continues to lose the battle against homelessness despite billions spent annually on government programs. We also take a quick...
This is the first of a two-part review of 2024. This article looks at citizen efforts to correct the mistakes made by politicians on crime and drug issues. Next week we will post our thoughts on why our region continues to lose the battle on the homeless crisis. As we look back on 2024, Washington...
The Seattle-based Discovery Institute released an important study on the King County homelessness crisis which asserts that current government “Housing First” policies are causing homeless numbers to double every three years. The report’s authors proposed commonsense solutions that go to the root cause of why half of the homeless individuals say they are living on...
“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...
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...
Progressive politicians now have complete control of Spokane’s city government, triggering local employers and community leaders to be concerned that their unchecked extreme homeless policies will cause their downtown neighborhood to decay as it has in Seattle. Last week these concerns came to the forefront as new Mayor Lisa Brown unveiled her transitional housing policy...
Things are completely backwards in Seattle where the government is creating the problems and then demanding the private sector clean up the city’s mess. In an illuminating segment sponsored by Future42, [un]Divided’s Brandi Kruse examined multiple examples of how the City of Seattle enforces one set of regulations on businesses, yet does not enforce the...
It seems every week there is another story of how a King County official, or the large county government bureaucracy (currently more than 14,000 employees) has done something to make residents feel less safe or worsen the region’s homeless crisis.