Blog | Page 30

Post Mortem in Spokane On Friday, “Camp Hope” shut down for good. At one point, organizers claimed more than 600 homeless people lived on this piece of WSDOT (@wsdot_east) property in the East Central neighborhood. After 18 months, more than half ended up in shelters or housing options that made sense for them. But officials say a few hundred likely ended up back on the city’s streets for various reasons. I spent the weekend trying to understand what worked and didn’t work. Camp Hope organizers say determining all that is going to take some time but everyone’s progress is being tracked. And some are saying this could be a model for sanctioned encampments. As for the state of the city, Read More ›

Breaking Embattled #Seattle Councilmember Andrew Lewis (@CMAndrewJLewis) loses another major endorsement from a community leader. This time it’s Joy Shigaki, President & CEO of Friends of Waterfront Seattle (@friendsWFS.) Lewis is getting hammered by many biz owners in downtown who expected him to vote YES on the drug bill that would have given City Attorney Ann Davison (@_Ann_Davison_) the power to prosecute illegal drug use and possession in public. Instead, he voted against it. Earlier in the week Jon Scholes, President & CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association (@downtownseattle) had his name removed from Lewis’s endorsement page. I’m being told others are still wavering and more could head for the doors. LEWIS ENDORSEMENT PAGE: Scholes Distances Himself Jon Scholes (@downtownseattle) Read More ›

A lot of homelessness initiatives are 90 percent talk and only 10 percent walk. That’s why I’m impressed with the street-level experience of people involved in The True Charity Initiative, which champions “a national movement of voluntarily funded, effective charity at the most local level.” I asked local leaders involved with True Charity to rank the four views of fixing homelessness that I summarized in my column last week: 1) Housing first, 2) Improve mental health/stop substance abuse first, 3) Community first, and 4) Christ first. Bill Roberts of Love INC in Fishersville, Virginia, said ranking the four is challenging, but he’d give it a shot. He put housing first:  Having a place to call home creates a sense of safety and security. Housing allows individuals Read More ›

Jonathan Choe and radio host Ari Hoffman join Fox Business to react to Seattle residents joining forces to clean up the city’s squalor before the MLB All Star game. Click here to watch the clip.

RV Explosion Update Authorities say Sunday afternoon, two RV’s parked on 8th Ave NW went up in flames in the Crown Hill hood. This is a stretch right underneath the Holman Rd NW overpass. No injuries. Neighbors say they heard propane tanks explode and possibly ammunition. They also say drug deals happen out of the RV’s on the regular. The city along with Councilmember Dan Strauss (@CMDanStrauss) are aware of the situation and have already cleared this encampment several months ago. But the Seattle Department of Transportation (@seattledot) is struggling to keep up with enforcement. Last check, there were 5 RV’s total parked here and several tents. Unclear when the city will move in to sweep. Some neighbors are now Read More ›

Hidden Seattle A few days ago, outreach group We Heart Seattle (@weheartseattle) found a stolen United Rentals (@UnitedRentals) forklift abandoned in a #Seattle homeless encampment along the East Duwamish Greenbelt. But there was much more. Walking further into the heavily wooded area, we discovered a constellation of tents and structures, even some set up under I-5 which is Washington State Department of Transportation (@WSDOT) property. We spoke to several people who say they are intentionally trying to live off the grid. This is a choice. Once again, this is not a housing issue. “Housing first” is not working. Yet this entire region is doubling down on this failed policy. There are people who do not want to pay rent, bills, Read More ›

Dismissing Dow In what may be one of the most defiant moments of the year, the #Burien business community and volunteers decided to ignore legal threats made by King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec,) and proceeded to sweep a problematic homeless encampment on their own. No law enforcement showed up Thursday morning and it was completely orderly. This could be a playbook for other communities tired of being strong armed by #KingCounty. It all depends on how Martin v. Boise is interpreted and applied. Back in 2018, the landmark ruling struck down Boise’s city-wide public camping ban because it lacked adequate emergency public shelter beds. Non-profit Burien Cares (@BurienCares) officially took over the lease for this plot of land and Read More ›

Political Liability? As the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) figures out it’s identity and role after a tumultuous year, KIRO Newsradio politics reporter Matt Markovich (@mattmarkovich) is offering some tremendous insight into the agency. Markovich has followed KCRHA since it’s inception. There may be no other reporter in this region who knows the inner workings better than this 30 plus year news veteran. Here’s his hot take on why it was formed and how former #Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (@jennydurkan, @MayorJenny) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) essentially wanted “deniability” when it came to addressing the region’s homeless crisis. And according to Markovich, there’s been on-going tension between former KCRHA CEO Marc Dones and current #Seattle Mayor Bruce Read More ›

KCRHA Absolutely Crushed In a scathing Op-ed, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn (@KCCReaganDunn) destroys Regional Homelessness Authority (@KingCoRHA) saying, “there are foundational issues that make the KCRHA doomed to fail and unfit to be trusted.” Click here to read the Seattle Times article. In Case You Missed It The King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s (@KingCoRHA) 5-Year Plan has been approved. Vote happened Thursday afternoon. The Governing Committee is made up of elected officials like Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell (@MayorofSeattle) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec.) Despite calls to dismantle KCRHA after the abrupt resignation of former CEO Marc Dones last month, they are still moving forward. It’s now on them. This agency is responsible for the bulk of homeless Read More ›

This column begins year two of my weekly writing specifically about homelessness: 52 down, 52 to go, and then it’s time to turn columns into a book. People new to the homelessness debate often find the recommendations of various groups confusing. So here’s a simplified, maybe over-simplified means of understanding the big four prescriptions: Let’s unpack this. Housing First advocates in government and at the National Alliance to End Homelessness say homeless individuals should receive permanent housing with no questions asked: They cannot be required to address their alcoholism or addictions, nor should they be pushed to meet with mental health professionals or take any medications. Further, Housing First emphasizes “client choice” regarding the housing that is offered: Those who Read More ›