Take Action: Stop Funding Failed Solutions

King County is reaching a crisis point. The homeless problem is getting worse, not better despite all the money spent on the problem.

We all agree something has to be done to ease the crisis and get people back on their feet. But real change isn’t easy. It means taking a hard look at the root causes of homelessness, the barriers that are keeping people from regaining jobs and homes and the failure of current programs. 

We need to accept that what Washington is doing isn’t working. They’ve spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a problem that is still getting worse. Now, the King County Homeless Authority has proposed a plan to spend $12 billion over the next five years on the same failed programs that funnel money to the same organizations. The plan is too expensive, doesn’t address the root causes of homelessness and is so bad it needs to be scrapped and started over again.  

We have very little time to change the direction of this misguided plan. Please contact them and let them know this plan is too expensive and they need to start over.

The governing board will vote April 20th. They need to hear from you!

Key talking points

• The King County Homeless Authority proposes to spend $12 billion over the next five years on programs that have already failed to reduce homelessness.
  • Let’s put that in perspective:
    • The current budget for all of King County is $16.4 billion. That budget includes funding to alleviate homelessness. 
    • The entire King County budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year was $12.4 billion, so this essentially proposes to double the size of government – and spend that taxpayer money on programs that are already failing 
    • That is more than $800,000 in taxpayer funding per homeless person. We don’t need to spend that much money. We simply need to spend wisely, on things that will actually make a difference.
• Many state and community leaders treat homelessness as a crisis in housing, when it should be seen as a crisis of addiction. There is significant evidence that homelessness is being driven by addiction – and the solutions need to address it from that perspective.
• Spending money on homelessness isn’t a solution. The spending needs to be accountable and transparent and, most importantly, it needs to work towards meaningful goals. 
• Current proposals keep vulnerable people trapped in dangerous environments that are counter-productive for real change.

Take Action

Find the member who represents you in the list below and click contact to send them a message telling them the plan is too expensive and they need to start over.

	Dow Constantine King County Executive Contact
	Bruce Harrell Seattle Mayor Contact
	Claudia Balducci King County Councilmember Contact
	Joe McDermott King County Councilmember Contact
	Lisa Herbold Seattle City Councilmember Contact
	Andrew Lewis Seattle City Councilmember Contact
	Nancy Backus Auburn Mayor Contact
	Angela Birney Redmond Mayor Contact
	Ed Prince Renton City Council member Contact