Fix Homelessness | How to rebuild human lives

HB 2266: Call Your Legislator Today

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty and Marsha Michaelis
March 2, 2026
2
Homelessness}

Update 3/5: The State Senate passed HB 2266, with amendments. The bill will now go back to the House to be reconsidered. A vote is expected the week of 3/9. Please call your local Representative today! than 20,000 people are living on the streets in Washington state, most of them suffering from an untreated mental illness and/or drug addiction. HB 2266 is currently moving through the Washington State legislature to make it easier to develop subsidized housing and emergency shelters in the style of the failed Housing First policy. This bill would override local ordinances and zoning laws, put residents in real danger of increased crime and lawlessness, and leave the homeless housed but without the real help they need. “It is good to want to help them,” says Discovery …

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 …

House Bill 2266: Stupid Greed or False Philanthropy?

_{Marsha Michaelis
March 5, 2026
4
Homelessness}

Every legislative session in Washington state, a few infamous bills absorb all the time and attention that ordinary citizens can reasonably devote to restraining their government — while still minding the important business of their own lives. This year, it’s a “millionaires’ tax” (also known as an unconstitutional state income tax), and a “modernization” of law enforcement that would ensure county-elected sheriffs serve at the behest of an unelected state board. Rightfully, the people are fiercely fighting these bad ideas. Meanwhile, about 350 other bills are quietly passing into law, many of them just as bad. Most of us won’t even know about these laws until we cut ourselves on their sharp edges while minding the important business …

Housing Doesn’t Solve Homelessness

_{Marvin Olasky
March 3, 2026
6
Homelessness}

California Governor Gavin Newsom regularly repeats his mantra: “Shelter solves sleep; housing solves homelessness.” Hmm. From 2022 to 2025, I wrote weekly columns about homelessness and gained insight by living for three weeks in shelters. Based on that I can say: In general, it is not true that housing solves homelessness. Maybe it solves homelessness for people who are not addicts, alcoholics, mentally ill, or victims of abusive childhoods, but most homeless people are in one or more of those four categories. Maybe housing solves homelessness if the rest of us don’t like to see homeless people: Get them out of sight and they can be out of mind. Invisibility benefits those who have homes. Unseen homeless folks don’t ask us for money, so we are free from …

Seattle Reporter Jonathan Choe Accuses Katie Wilson of Masking Homelessness Failures to Prepare for World Cup

_{Jasneet Gill
February 27, 2026
3
Homelessness}

The following article was originally published at Seattle Red 770 AM by author Jasneet Gill, covering one of Senior Fellow Jonathan Choe’s recent appearances on The Jason Rantz Show. Investigative reporter Jonathan Choe is raising concerns over Seattle’s homelessness crisis, claiming that Mayor Katie Wilson’s new approach is failing to deliver real results. Despite the Mayor’s recent public boasts about her progress, Choe argues that the city is actually stuck in a cycle of failed policies that are only making things worse as the 2026 World Cup approaches. Claims of success vs. reality During her State of the City address, Mayor Wilson took a “victory lap,” bragging about her ability to move people from the streets into housing. …

Homeless, Incorporated

_{Kevin Dahlgren
February 26, 2026
2
Homelessness}

After decades of working inside homelessness services, I’ve learned that the greatest lie we tell ourselves is that we don’t know what works. We do. The problem isn’t a lack of data, innovation, or funding. The problem is that real solutions require decisions we are unwilling to make and truths we are afraid to say out loud. It is easier to expand systems than to fix them. Easier to signal compassion than to practice it in ways that are uncomfortable. Easier to manage homelessness than to end it. Most people assume homelessness persists because it is too complex to solve. In reality, it persists because solving it would disrupt an entire industry built around its permanence. Over time, the system stopped being accountable to outcomes and became accountable to …

Obama Admits Housing First was a Losing Strategy

_{Michele Steeb
February 23, 2026
4
Homelessness}

Last weekend, former President Barack Obama acknowledged a blunt political reality: “The average person doesn’t want to have to navigate around a tent city in the middle of downtown … and we’re not going to be able to generate support if we simply say, ‘It’s not their fault, they should be able to do whatever they want,’ because that’s a losing political strategy.” What makes the remark notable is not merely its candor. It is the history behind it. It was the Obama administration that institutionalized the federal government’s one-size-fits-all embrace of Housing First in 2013. They promised the approach would end homelessness within a decade by prioritizing immediate housing placement. The theory was simple: Housing would …

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Street Report

from Jonathan Choe

Seattle Dances Raises More Than $1.5 Million for Controversial Plymouth Housing

_{Jonathan Choe
March 9, 2026
2
Housing}

Crashing the Party Over the weekend, “Seattle Dances” raised more than $1.5 million dollars for Plymouth Housing, a controversial non-profit claiming to be solving homelessness. Organizers even managed to rope in local journalists and “celebrities” to push their agenda. But critics crashed this party with a protest, to educate Seattle’s donor class about what’s really happening inside these so called “permanent supportive housing” facilities. Just look at the 911 calls and police reports that continue to show a pattern of crime, chaos, and death whenever Plymouth buildings are built in communities. I’m dropping a more in-depth story later today. Here’s a preview. NEW: Plymouth Housing is one of the most …

The Tragic Tale of the Las Vegas “Mole People”

_{Jonathan Choe and Kevin Dahlgren
March 9, 2026
1
Homelessness}

The Las Vegas Secret Las Vegas “mole people” are real. It’s the worst-kept secret in the city. In Part 1 of this investigation, Kevin Dahlgren and I are showing the problem, but also trying to figure out why elected officials want this crisis hidden instead of solved. …

Stop the Sweeps Seattle Turns on Mayor Wilson

_{Jonathan Choe
March 9, 2026
1
Homelessness}

“Expect to hear more from us…” Stop The Sweeps Seattle is now making veiled threats at Mayor Katie Wilson. The Antifa aligned far-left activist group claims Wilson isn’t stopping encampment removals. So it appears they’re getting ready to protest and be disruptive, just like the old days. “Expect to hear more from us about the Wilson administration moving forward…” LEFT EATING THEIR OWN: Stop The Sweeps Seattle is finally speaking out against Mayor Katie Wilson’s drug encampment sweeps. Members of this far-left activist group wrote a demand letter in Real Change News and slammed Wilson for essentially doing the exact same thing as her… https://t.co/Kt7Exwh6Ou pic.twitter.com/NsYyi6kB3v— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) February 22, …

Plymouth Housing Rep Admits Most Residents Will Not Seek Employment, Will Die There

_{Jonathan Choe
March 5, 2026
1
Housing}

Profit Machine Plymouth Housing is one of the most notorious players in WA’s homeless industrial complex. It is a massive profit machine with huge backing from influential business leaders and politicians. It is constantly touted by many Democrats as the ideal model to address the street crisis and help people regain self sufficiency. But listen to this executive admit there is ZERO incentive to help formerly homeless people find jobs and careers. That’s because if clients make too much money, they wouldn’t qualify for taxpayer subsidized housing. In other words, everyone is a dollar sign to Plymouth, and the goal is to keep them warehoused as long as possible. The longer people stay, the more money Plymouth can bank. Extremely vulnerable people are …

Seattle Mayor Leaves Press Conference Without Taking Any Questions

_{Jonathan Choe
March 3, 2026
1
Governance}

Running Scared Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is once again running scared from the media. Wednesday afternoon, Wilson quietly left a press conference about homeless shelters before it even ended. One local tv station reporter could be overheard arguing with Wilson’s communications director Sage Wilson, demanding an explanation. This is straight up amateur hour. #EXCLUSIVE: Socialist Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is dodging all my questions about the devastating homeless drug crisis destroying lives in her city. She's also avoiding questions about the controversial encampment sweeps ramping up under her watch. So I had to confront her at… pic.twitter.com/9238x5SoZC— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) February 25, 2026 Contentious Relationship Since taking office …

Seattle Encampment Returns Just Weeks After Two Sweeps

_{Jonathan Choe
March 1, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Waste of Taxpayer Dollars Even after two mega sweeps last month, homeless drug addicts are back at the corner of MLK Jr Way and Rainier Ave S. What a waste of taxpayer dollars. New drug encampments are also popping up across the city. That’s because all the addicts know Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson won’t follow through with arrests, and City Attorney Erika Evans won’t prosecute for illegal camping. Just a reminder, the FIFA World Cup is just three months away. NEW: Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is now dealing with a credibility problem. She said homeless outreach and sweeps would be done differently. But in reality, nothing has changed from the prior administration. On Friday, the MLK Jr. Way drug encampment was cleared for the second… …

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Our Mission

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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Legal Guide

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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Case Studies

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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