Drug Epidemic

Repeating Mistakes During Tuesday’s State of the City address, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson will say she is building more affordable housing to address the city’s homeless crisis. But she’s doubling down on the same “Housing First” policies that have failed this region for more than a decade and it won’t work. Not until she figures out how to deal with the “service resistant” class of people living on the streets. These are the men and women who are heavily addicted to drugs and refuse all shelter and treatment services currently available. Just drive down Rainier Ave S and you will find them everywhere. All the encampment sweeps under her watch have forced many people to move to this part of Read More ›

Out of Control As Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson prepares to deliver her first State of the City address, parts of downtown remain a drug infested disaster. Especially the Belltown neighborhood near 2nd Ave and Blanchard St. Sunday evening, I watched dozens of addicts come and go, selling fentanyl in front of children with no cops in sight. Ironically they are using the vestibule of REACH, one of the largest homeless outreach providers funded with taxpayer dollars from the city. Yet REACH leaders can’t even get the situation under control in front of their own HQ. It’s time the Wilson administration do a full audit of these failing organizations. REACH REACH is a division of Evergreen Treatment Services. A couple years Read More ›

The Seahawks Super Bowl parade drew hundreds of thousands of people into Seattle. You would think Mayor Katie Wilson would sweep tents near the Space Needle, one of the crown jewels in the city. Instead, a massive drug tent stood out like a sore thumb. Cops walked by without batting an eye. Another embarrassing moment for the Wilson administration that clearly isn’t ready for the big time.

Even after a Super Bowl win, Seattle leaders failed to clear out the downtown drug dens and black market of stolen goods. Watch as Seahawks fans try to celebrate in the streets while avoiding zombies and fentanyl addicts.

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.

A homeless man has burrowed himself beneath thousands of pieces of driftwood and built what can only be described as an apartment. I went inside and looked around. There are two bedrooms, one still under construction, framed by uneven piles of driftwood and debris. Two small windows let in slivers of natural light through the gaps, barely illuminating the space. Shadows crawl across the walls and floor, giving the room a claustrophobic, almost surreal quality. The living area is chaotic, more workshop than home. Boards, nails, and hand tools are scattered across the dirt floor, evidence of ongoing construction and repair. Among the clutter, hundreds of used needles glint dangerously in the dim light. The smell of damp wood and Read More ›

“There’s a Big Drug Dealer Down Here” After dozens of neighbor complaints about homeless drug addicts destroying Seattle’s Dr. Jose Rizal Park, the fencing is back up and major renovations are about to get started. But We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez says the dealers and addicts are now moving further into wooded areas in Beacon Hill and the city is barely enforcing public camping laws in this area. Suarez is also calling out Seattle Parks Superintendent AP Diaz for being MIA.

Harm Reduction In Action Plymouth Housing continues to be a blight on the downtown Seattle community. Look at all the drug action in front of the Stewart Street location. This is “Housing First” and “Harm Reduction” in action. Staff give out free drug supplies and no one is required to go into detox or find jobs. So they hang out all day in their apartments and do fentanyl. In some cases, dealers actually live in the units. It’s one stop shopping and a death trap. If any of these so called “permanent supportive” apartments are pitched for your community, fight like heck to keep it out. Unless you like to live next to crime, chaos, and death everyday. 911 calls Read More ›

Politicians Look the Other Way Don’t let all the pretty Christmas lights fool you. The drug dens in downtown Seattle are roaring out of control. Look at this one in front of the Olympic Tower Apartments at the corner of 3rd Ave and Pine St. Everyone is doing fentanyl. I bumped into this young Korean American woman who’s been a regular out here for years. She’s probably in her early 30’s but now looks like she’s in her 50’s from all the drug use. This human catastrophe continues unchecked in this city and the politicians are all looking the other way. King County Public Health is also MIA. Anyone ever see Councilmember Bob Kettle walk this nightmare stretch in his Read More ›

Drug Addiction Overruns the City Streets Since the weekend, I have now counted more than 100 drug tents in Seattle’s Chinatown-ID and Beacon Hill neighborhoods which are next to each other. This is obviously an undercount since I can’t be everywhere. Drug addicts have also taken over Dr. Jose Rizal Park. Since outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell has given up on the city, I am keeping a running list of encampments for Mayor-elect Katie Wilson. But it’s unclear if she will do anything about it. Btw, stop enabling these addicts by giving them free tents. The non-profits and virtue signaling Seattle residents are keeping vulnerable people on the streets. Get them into shelters, drive them to treatment, or send them home. Read More ›