Why Housing First Isn’t the Answer to Seattle’s Homelessness Crisis

I've spent years working directly with Seattle's homeless population, not studying them from university offices, or analyzing data sets from a comfortable distance, but on the streets, in the encampments, doing street-level engagement and intervention. When I read yet another opinion piece ("Homelessness in Seattle: We can't unsee it." Dec. 28, 2025) attributing our homelessness crisis primarily to housing costs, I have to ask: Are we really going to continue trusting consultants and researchers over what our own eyes tell us?

The December piece by Walter Hatch follows a familiar pattern in academia: Start with a conclusion, in this case, that "it's a housing problem," then find data to support it. However, those of us working on the ground are aware of a critical fact that these analyses consistently overlook: There's a fundamental distinction between the "crisis population" living in visible squalor on our streets and individuals who are the working poor — couch-surfing, living with family or struggling with roommates to afford rent.

We cannot conflate these populations. They are not the same.