pile second hand shoes
Pile of second hand shoes on shelf at weekend market.
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Fix Homelessness How to rebuild human lives

Fix Homelessness

Drug Crisis on Seattle Sidewalks During Holiday Festivity

Jonathan Choe
December 3, 2023
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Weekend Wreck I thought maybe leading up to Christmas, downtown Seattle would be sparkling and shining with perfection. At the very least, no massive crowds of drug users congregating at 3rd Ave & Pike St. Well, I was DEAD WRONG. Even with brighter overhead lights added to the Ross store and more Seattle Police (@SeattlePD) officers on patrol, the madness is still everywhere. The alleys and side streets are filled with people hunched over from using fentanyl. Tons of drug addicts have moved to West Lake station. They’re also feeling emboldened to use Olga Sagan’s (@OlgaSaganWA) Piroshsky Piroshky Bakery (@PiroshkyBakery) as an open air drug den. This is all part of District 7 Councilmember Andrew Lewis’ (@CMAndrewJLewis) legacy. Incoming CM Bob Kettle …

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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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Jim Palmer of the Orange County Rescue Mission on causes and cures for America’s homelessness crisis

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Tom Shakely
November 1, 2021
In this episode of Humanize, Wesley J. Smith speaks with Jim Palmer, the president of the Orange County Rescue Mission about the many causes and potential cures of America’s seemingly intractable homeless crisis. It is a crucial, if disturbing, conversation that touches upon the most existential needs of people and our mutual responsibilities to each other. Homelessness has reached crisis proportions in which even our most prosperous cities — such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — witness thousands of people living in squalid tent encampments lining streets that provide scant shelter for people that many of us would rather ignore. It’s all such a mess, it is tempting to throw up one’s hands in despair. But understanding the causes of homelessness is …

Robert Marbut on America’s Homelessness Crisis, Strategies for Uplifting the Homeless, and Effective Government Policies

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Tom Shakely
May 23, 2022
Homelessness has reached crisis proportions. Few issues of human dignity are as heart wrenching as the wretched scenes in our most prosperous cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — where one can drive down main thoroughfares and be confronted with tent encampments lining streets that provide scant shelter for thousands of destitute people. The crisis is as multifaceted as it is seemingly intractable. What is the role of mental illness in the crisis? What about drug addiction? Is the rising cost of housing part of the problem, and if so, what can be done about it? What protections does society owe these vulnerable people based simply on their humanity and what responsibilities, if any, do they owe to greater society? It’s all such a mess, it is tempting to …

[not] anything helps

Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth & Poverty is leading a research project on homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. Our mission is to help city leaders, business owners, and neighborhood organizations meaningfully reduce homelessness and improve lives. 

Resources

National Report

“Housing First” — and often only — has demonstrably failed. Congress and the Executive Branch need to focus more on 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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