After five years of declaring a state of emergency on homelessness in Seattle and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, the problem is only getting worse. Almost every day, there is another story about encampments on playfields and school grounds and each story has a similar ending – Seattle will spend $167m on homelessness this year, yet the city does not have a plan.

It is not compassionate to leave our fellow citizens in dangerous, squalid conditions, often needing intervention for mental health or substance abuse.

A broad coalition of neighborhood groups, small businesses, and civic leaders put forth a charter amendment which is receiving a strong reception outside of City Hall.

The real question we should be asking is ‘why hasn’t the elected city council come up with a plan to address homelessness?’ A plan is about more than just spending additional tax dollars. We are in a state of emergency, our city council should act like it.