Fix Homelessness | How to rebuild human lives

Madison Valley Homeless Shelter Brings Crime and Disorder to Neighborhood

_{Marsha Michaelis
April 29, 2026
8
Housing}

Wendy Yim is an aspiring writer, and by all measures a good one. Her first novel attracted the attention of literary agents and she was working on a second when she was forced to pivot to much less rewarding work: defending her neighborhood against the dangers posed by a low-barrier homeless shelter. Wendy’s family lives in Seattle’s picturesque, middle-class Madison Valley neighborhood, situated just east of Capitol Hill — a place filled with eclectic and colorful homes, winding streets lined with trees, and yards landscaped with flowers. Through the middle runs East Madison Street, host to about twenty small businesses, including a flower shop, bakery, music school, several ethnic restaurants, a small supermarket, and a massage clinic. Children make up 20% of the …

New Federal Direction Frees Cities to Ditch Housing First, Pursue Real Solutions

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty
November 17, 2025
2
What Works}

SEATTLE, WA — “Federal reforms have finally created space for local leaders to put treatment and recovery back at the center of homelessness policy,” says Discovery Institute President Steve Buri. “Real compassion means helping people reclaim stability and dignity, not leaving them trapped in addiction and illness without a path to restoration.” Following a newly-released reformed funding package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Discovery Institute published an essential policy brief calling on local governments, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and service agencies to leverage these new federal reforms and make treatment and recovery central to local homelessness solutions. The brief outlines how “Housing First” and …

Michele Steeb Calls for “All Hands on Deck” Approach to Homelessness on The Steve Gruber Show

_{Editor and Michele Steeb
May 5, 2026
1
Uncategorized}

Michele Steeb appeared on The Steve Gruber Show on May 5 to discuss our current homelessness crisis. She explained why Housing First has failed to address the crisis, why the crisis is especially bad in California, the bill that could have begun to turn things around, but that Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed, and more. …

Reintegrating Faith Into the Nation’s Approach to Homelessness

_{Michele Steeb
April 17, 2026
4
Homelessness}

For more than a century, America’s response to homelessness was rooted in faith. Churches, rescue missions, Catholic Charities, and the Salvation Army fed the hungry, sheltered the vulnerable, and most importantly, walked alongside them toward restoration. They innately understood a fundamental truth: Homelessness is a human transformation challenge requiring recovery, accountability, and the restoration of purpose. Over the past decade, however, policymakers were increasingly steered toward a different conclusion. A one-size-fits-all approach was supposed to end homelessness and simplify it — housing as the solution, housing placement as the sole metric, and a uniform approach applied everywhere. For policymakers drawn to ease, the appeal was obvious. But in embracing …

LA’s Skid Row a Painful Monument of “Housing First” Policy

_{Kevin Dahlgren
April 14, 2026
4
Homelessness}

Skid Row in Los Angeles stands as a stark example of what happens when ideology overrides reality. Spanning roughly fifty blocks, it is one of the most concentrated homeless zones in the United States, filled with people trapped in addiction and untreated, severe mental illness, often marked by psychosis — a loss of contact with reality. For years, Los Angeles has wrapped its homelessness policies in the language of empathy and housing justice. But Skid Row reveals a harsher truth. What exists there is not simply poverty. It is a concentration of addiction, untreated mental illness, disorder, and human collapse in one of America’s most visible zones of urban breakdown. Los Angeles has embraced Housing First, a model that places people in permanent housing without …

Jonathan Choe Speaks with James O’Keefe About Cash-for-Ballots Scheme

_{Jonathan Choe
April 3, 2026
1
Fraud}

Citizen Justice League It’s a privilege being part of the new Citizen Justice League, an elite group of independent journalists collaborating on some of the biggest stories across the nation. This week, I spoke to my friend and colleague James O’Keefe about our latest investigation into the cash for ballots fraud scheme which is still ongoing. Jonathan Choe was PUSHED HARD to sign and forge signatures on ballot petitions in LA.“To see these ballot petitioners gathering signatures while targeting some of the most vulnerable people on the streets… that’s probably one of the most sinister things I’ve seen.”He and… pic.twitter.com/IF5lOwkwMg— O’Keefe Media Group (@OKeefeMedia) April 3, 2026 …

Newsom Tries to Shift Blame on Homelessness to Local Government

_{Michele Steeb
March 31, 2026
4
Homelessness}

Gavin Newsom stood before the cameras in early March and once again blamed local governments for the state’s spiraling homelessness crisis. “No more excuses,” he thundered, threatening to strip funding from counties he claims are underperforming while promising to redirect “every damn penny” to those “getting things done.” Newsom is once again attempting to shift blame for California’s homelessness crisis — the very crisis he has repeatedly pledged to solve, including his 2021 vow to end family homelessness within five years. Since 2017, homelessness in California has surged by more than 40 percent — from roughly 134,000 people to nearly 187,000 in 2024 — despite an estimated $30 billion in spending he authorized. His …

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Street Report

from Jonathan Choe

Seattle Public Library Holds Harm Reduction Courses

_{Jonathan Choe
May 5, 2026
3
Drug Epidemic}

Exclusive The Seattle Public Library is now allowing the controversial People’s Harm Reduction Alliance to hold classes on how to properly use drug paraphernalia. The Capitol Hill library branch is also giving away free Narcan at the front desk in the form of needle kits with ZERO training and easy access to minors. Tuesday afternoon, the taxpayer funded PHRA staff got triggered and canceled an information session after they saw me recording. What are they trying to hide? UNENDING DRUG CRISIS: The drug addiction crisis is out of control on the streets of #KingCounty and #Seattle. Our teens and young people are now being targeted with drug paraphernalia, all in the name of "harm reduction." Instead of working on anti-drug education programs in our… …

Mamdani Ignores New York City Homelessness

_{SIX SEVEN KEVIN
May 4, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Despite his campaign promise to end homeless encampment sweeps, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has reinstated them. Filmmaker SIX SEVEN KEVIN takes to the streets of New York City, asking business owners, residents, and homeless individuals themselves about how the mayor has been handling the homelessness crisis. 6’7 Kevin is a documentary filmmaker and journalist known for the Dregs of the City series on YouTube, where he explores America’s homeless culture from state to state. Follow SIX SEVEN KEVIN’s YouTube channel: @67kevin⁩ Follow SIX SEVEN KEVIN on X: Six Seven (@67Kevin1) / X Visit SIX SEVEN KEVIN’s website: SIX SEVEN | Documentary Filmmakers …

Mayor Katie Wilson Answers: How Do We Care for the Service Resistant?

_{Jonathan Choe and SIX SEVEN KEVIN
May 3, 2026
1
Homelessness}

“I Chose to be a Meth Head” Kevin Kalb is an independent filmmaker known for his “Dregs of the City” YouTube documentaries. He’s in Seattle collaborating with Discovery Institute Media to spotlight the region’s homeless drug crisis. He managed to get an interview with Mayor Katie Wilson and questioned her about the “service resistant” addicts who are causing the most problems on the streets. Wilson gave him spin about city “models” that get the “vast majority” of people off the streets. Not true at all. In fact it’s the opposite. Even the drug addicts laid out reasons why they don’t want city shelters like tiny houses. One woman summed it up best: “I don’t want to lay in my bed and …

Madison Valley Resident and Advocate Speaks Out About Impacts of Low-Barrier Housing

_{Jonathan Choe
April 29, 2026
1
Housing}

A Familiar Pattern A Chicago-based non-profit called CommonSpirit now controls Virginia Mason Franciscan Health’s Bailey-Boushay House. The controversial taxpayer-funded homeless shelter is being blamed for a spike in crime, drug use, and disorder in Seattle’s Madison Valley. The embattled King County Regional Homelessness Authority is supposed to hold them accountable but has failed to do so. My colleague Marsha Michaelis and I are taking a closer look at the way “low barrier” facilities are destroying communities in WA. 1/ Another Low-Barrier Homeless Shelter Endangers Neighborhood:Seattle’s Madison Valley is a picturesque, middle-class neighborhood, situated just east of Capitol Hill — a place filled with colorful homes, winding streets …

Mental Illness at a Bus Stop: Why the Homeless and Communities Deserve Better

_{Jonathan Choe
April 29, 2026
1
Housing}

Unhinged Behavior Bailey-Boushay House in Seattle, known for its HIV/AIDS care and low-barrier homeless shelter, faces major challenges surrounding neighborhood safety and public disorder. Look at this client going on a bender in front of the bus stop that’s frequently used by children and the elderly. 1/ Another Low-Barrier Homeless Shelter Endangers Neighborhood:Seattle’s Madison Valley is a picturesque, middle-class neighborhood, situated just east of Capitol Hill — a place filled with colorful homes, winding streets lined with trees, and yards landscaped with flowers.… pic.twitter.com/MrYAaA329S— Marsha Michaelis (@MarshaMichaelis) April 30, 2026 …

Low-Barrier Bailey-Boushay House Wreaking Havoc on Seattle Neighborhood

_{Jonathan Choe
April 29, 2026
1
Housing}

Community Cancer Neighbors and business owners are sounding the alarm about a problematic homeless shelter in Seattle’s picturesque Madison Valley neighborhood. It’s Virginia Mason’s Bailey-Boushay House that’s now being blamed for attracting crime, open-air drug use, and mentally unhinged individuals into the community. This facility gets millions of taxpayer dollars but critics say no one is holding them accountable. This is another black eye for the constellation of “low barrier” facilities that are being championed by Mayor Katie Wilson. 1/ Another Low-Barrier Homeless Shelter Endangers Neighborhood:Seattle’s Madison Valley is a picturesque, middle-class neighborhood, situated just east of Capitol Hill — a place filled with …

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Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness initiative offers innovative research and compassionate solutions to the growing crisis of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness facing many American cities. Our mission is to serve as a resource for policy leaders, business owners, and neighborhood organizations trying to meaningfully reduce homelessness and to help those suffering realize their full human potential.

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Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness Initiative pairs journalism with research on homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. Our mission is to help city leaders, service organizations, and business owners meaningfully reduce homelessness and improve lives.

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National Report

“Housing First” — and often only — has demonstrably failed. Congress and the Executive Branch must shift the focus onto untreated mental illness and substance abuse to reduce homelessness, drug overdoses, jail overcrowding, and misuse of emergency rooms. Herein we make policy recommendations to Congress to truly help rebuild human lives.

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We have created a legal guide for cities to maintain compliance with the Martin v Boise decision. The guide outlines best practices for compliance and provides models for successful ordinances that balance enforcement, housing, and legal requirements. The guide is written by Joseph Tartakovsky, attorney for the City of Boise in the Martin v Boise case.

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We have created case studies of cities that have delivered cost-effective and rapid results on homelessness. We’ll show you how San Diego built an emergency shelter and moved 700 people off the streets, how Burien eliminated camping in public parks, and how Modesto reduced quality-of-life crimes associated with homelessness by 83 percent — all within 60 days.

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