Fix Homelessness How to rebuild human lives

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Police Respond to “Drug Deal Gone Bad” In Front of Homeless Non-Profit

Breaking Friday afternoon, massive police response to what law enforcement sources call a “drug deal gone bad” in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Witnesses say the man in dreadlocks stabbed a woman in the temple over a hit of crack at the corner of 3rd Ave and Blanchard St. Victim was transported to the hospital. Suspect was apprehended at the scene and put into an ambulance. Another witness said, “cops barbecued and bean bagged his a**.” This is the latest troubling incident to happen right in front of the problematic REACH homeless non-profit headquarters. This area is one of the worst crime hot spots in the city due to the clientele REACH attracts and enables.

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Holding hands, support and closeup with trust, solidarity and community on a home table. Therapy, diversity and gratitude of friends together with hope, respect and love for grief empathy and forgive
Image Credit: Donson/peopleimages.com - Adobe Stock

Dueling Definitions of Compassion

In the U.S. Capitol 30 years ago, on March 23, 1995, Rep. Glenn Poshard (D., Illinois) advocated for more federal spending for the poor and homeless. He said spending hundreds of billions on governmental poverty-fighting was not “wild-eyed liberalism [based on building] systems that end up manipulating and controlling the poor, more than liberating them.” Instead, the expenditures were biblical, because “if there is one thing evident in the Scriptures, it is that God gives priority to the poor.” Poshard criticized conservative policy analysts by quoting Jesus “from the Sermon on the Mount. Time and again he says, ‘blessed are the poor.…When I was thirsty you gave me drink, when I was hungry you fed me, when I was naked Read More ›

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Drug and Mental Health Crisis Out of Control Outside Seattle McDonald’s

McStabby’s If you want to see Seattle’s failure to handle the drug and mental health crisis, just go to 3rd Ave & Pine St in downtown. Within five minutes, I saw dozens of people smoking fentanyl, a woman yelling at random people, and a dude trying to sell stolen skin care products. And yes, McDonald’s is indeed nicknamed “McStabby’s” due to the inordinate amount of crime at this corner. The fast food giant only allows walk-up service. The current plan is not working.

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Seattle’s Little Saigon Overwhelmed with Open-Air Drug Use

Human Dumping Ground I stepped away from Seattle drug den coverage for just one week. I thought maybe things were getting better in hot spots like Little Saigon. I was wrong. It’s worse than ever and the city has zero lasting solutions. The current plan is not working.

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Seattle’s Closed DESC Navigation Center Becomes Abandoned Drug Den

Hopes Dwindle The notorious DESC Navigation Center in Seattle’s Little Saigon is now closed. Neighbors hope this move will keep away crime and open-air drug use. But people are now camping on the lawn and setting fires outside this former homeless shelter. Will Mayor Bruce Harrell step up to help or will this abandoned building be seized by the addicts? Encounter with DESC Staff One of my many encounters with DESC staff. They don’t like to be exposed.

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San Francisco: From Doom Loop to Boom Loop

From “Doom Loop” to “Boom Loop,” San Francisco could be turning the corner on all the crime, chaos and death. A new mayor and new approach to the homeless drug crisis could be the game changer. Here’s part 1 of our series in the Bay Area. Parts of San Francisco have been described as being stuck in a perpetual doom loop. A never-ending pattern of crime, chaos, and death. But some of the most problematic neighborhoods in the city could be getting ready to break out of this vicious cycle. “Is the Tenderloin looking better?” I ask a local resident. “Oh yeah, it is,” he responds. That’s because new mayor Daniel Lurie is on a mission to reclaim what was Read More ›

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Starving homeless people receive food from volunteers who serve humane : The concept of giving
Image Credit: kuarmungadd - Adobe Stock

Springs Rescue Mission: More Than Food and a Bed

The city of Colorado Springs does not want people sleeping on the streets and stealing or begging for food. The last IRS report 990 that Springs Rescue Mission (SRM) filed (April 2024) shows $5.6 million in food and shelter costs, with $2.2 million coming from governments and $3.4 million from private sources. Their overall income is a healthy $13.5 million. SRM does not owe its life to government, and it does not give beds and meals only to those who sit through a service or listen to a sermon. Part of the argument for city government supplementing the SRM budget comes down to dollars and cents. Colorado Springs spends about $57,000 annually per chronically homeless adult. SRM sees about 220 Read More ›

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Kirkland Low Barrier Housing Pushed Through Despite Community Concerns

New King County’s latest homeless hotel is set to open in Kirkland this summer. It’s “low barrier” and drug addicts will be allowed on site without any requirements to seek treatment. They call it “Health Through Housing.” During Tuesday evening’s community forum, concerned residents were not satisfied with the responses and non-answers to their questions. Despite major community concerns about crime and 911 calls spiking in the area, the woke city council capitulated and gave into Dow Constantine’s demands. It’s now pretty much a done deal. Controversial housing provider Plymouth Housing will run the joint.

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Dr. Robert Marbut and Billy Baldwin Talk Fentanyl Doc with Brian Kilmeade

Senior Fellow Dr. Robert Marbut and actor Billy Baldwin appeared on Fox News Radio’s Brian Kilmeade Show to discuss their new documentary, “Fentanyl: Death Incorporated.” Marbut and Baldwin discuss how they got involved with the creation of the documentary, the origin of the fentanyl crisis, and the scope of the problem. “The stat that really brings it home,” says Marbut, “[is] more people have died of fentanyl in the last five years than the last hundred years of war for Americans.” Find out more about “Fentanyl: Death Incorporated,” and where you can watch it, at fentanyldeathincorporated.com.

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homeless people ask for alms sitting on the sidewalk against the wall
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Jeff Cook’s Second Look at Springs Rescue Mission

I’ve learned in my stays at homeless shelters one clear lesson: how hard it is to offer true help. Jeff Cook, chief program officer at Springs Rescue Mission (SRM), wrote this in his dissertation: “When reviewing the reason clients are homeless, it was apparent that they all had some traumatic experiences that caused them to be homeless. This trauma could have begun in many forms: the death of a parent or family member, the victim of a crime, human or drug trafficking, or the loss of a job due to illness.” Such stressful events shatter senses of security. They leave people feeling endangered by normal life, unstable even when placed in stable housing. A faith in Christ can be a Read More ›