Fix Homelessness | How to rebuild human lives

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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Street Report

from Jonathan Choe

Seattle’s Lewis Park Still Open Despite Rampant Drug Activity

_{Jonathan Choe
May 13, 2026
1
Drug Epidemic}

Disaster Area Why is Seattle’s Lewis Park still open? It is a full blown drug den and playground for addicts, fentanyl dealers, and sex traffickers. It’s also home to many missing people. We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez and I went looking for Benjamin George Petry this week. Sadly, we did not find him. But we saw so many problems on full display like the inflow crisis. Most of the people slinging meth and fetty aren’t even from this area. We also met a baby faced 19-year-old addicted to all kinds of drugs. Meanwhile, elected officials are paralyzed by this issue and the city has turned into a lawless playground. NEW: Seattle Councilmember Eddie Lin says he might call for the temporary closure of Lewis Park in the Beacon Hill …

Lime Bikes Stolen, Used in Homeless Encampments

_{Jonathan Choe
May 13, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Cost of Doing Business Homeless drug addicts are now using Lime bikes to prop up their encampments in Seattle. Company workers gathering these rentals must navigate through dangerous encampments to reclaim their property. Cost of doing business in this city under socialist mayor Katie Wilson. …

Seattle Clears More than 30 Tents Out of Chinatown, Addicts Refusing Services

_{Jonathan Choe
May 13, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Game of Whack-A-Mole Continues After months of paralysis by the city, more than 30 drug tents are being swept out of Chinatown-ID today. Problem is, the vast majority of people here are fentanyl addicts so they are refusing to take shelter and services being offered by the city. They’re just moving down the block and the game of Whack-A-Mole continues. This is exactly why Mayor Katie Wilson’s idea to build more tiny houses to address the street crisis is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Only Homeless INC and the builders will benefit as elected officials race to clear drug encampments before the FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, We Heart Seattle is getting people into treatment and recovery, one person at a time. NEW: Holy crap! The latest drug encampment at …

Seattle Mayor Accused of Pushing Homeless Drug Addicts Out of Downtown Ahead of FIFA World Cup

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty
May 8, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Jonathan Choe and Brandi Kruse give an inside look into the open-air drug use, mental illness, and sale of drugs/stolen goods plaguing downtown Seattle streets and parks — problems city leaders now appear eager to move out of sight before hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive. An estimated ~750,000 people are expected to visit Seattle during the FIFA World Cup beginning in June 2026. In preparation, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is accused of pushing homeless encampments and activity out of the downtown core and into surrounding areas. Former Mayor Bruce Harrell faced criticism for similar tactics, including downtown sweeps and distributing visitor maps highlighting “safe” routes for tourists to avoid areas overwhelmed by homelessness, drug use, and …

Seattle’s Inflow Crisis

_{SIX SEVEN KEVIN
May 8, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Seattle and King County have the third-largest homeless population in the country, and it’s only getting worse. A Discovery Institute study in 2024 found that 86.6% of the Seattle and King County homeless population were not born there and that nearly half — 49.7% — first began experiencing homelessness outside of Seattle and King County. Read the Report Here Filmmaker SIX SEVEN KEVIN explores the reality of these findings by asking the homeless themselves where they come from. Answers range from New York and Alaska to Africa and Guatemala, revealing the crisis of a city that attracts homelessness without offering any solutions. 6’7 Kevin is a documentary filmmaker and journalist known for the Dregs of the City series on YouTube, where he explores …

Seattle Mayor Has No Plan for the Service Resistant

_{SIX SEVEN KEVIN
May 8, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson was elected to office in November 2025, succeeding Mayor Bruce Harrell. Filmmaker SIX SEVEN KEVIN asks her what should be done about the service-resistant homeless, who turn down offers for shelter and treatment. Unfortunately, Mayor Wilson’s response leaves much to be desired. 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 …

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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.

Resources

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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