Homelessness

“Morning by morning new mercies I see.” That line from the hymn written in the 1920s, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” summarizes not only the Christian life but the way some beaten-down humans suffering homelessness come to believe that God can change their lives — or at least they can improve their own lives by moving from cereal (morning by morning) to bacon and eggs. “Bird by bird, buddy.” In the 1990s, Annie Lamott wrote Bird by Bird, a book about becoming a writer. The title comes from the time her ten-year-old brother fought frustration while trying to finish a report on birds that he’d struggled over for three months. “My father sat down beside him, put his arm around my Read More ›

[The following is a podcast episode originally published May 23, 2022, at Humanize, a podcast hosted by Wesley J. Smith at Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.] Homelessness has reached crisis proportions. Few issues of human dignity are as heart wrenching as the wretched scenes in our most prosperous cities — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — where one can drive down main thoroughfares and be confronted with tent encampments lining streets that provide scant shelter for thousands of destitute people. The crisis is as multifaceted as it is seemingly intractable. What is the role of mental illness in the crisis? What about drug addiction? Is the rising cost of housing part of the problem, and if so, Read More ›

Several readers have asked me what I’ve learned from interviewing homeless people during my stays in shelters. Hmm. One book about health care costs features this title: “Never Pay the First Bill.” I’ve encountered exceptions, but if we hope to be both compassionate and constructive, our rule should be, “Never Accept the First Explanation.” I tried to stay at shelters for at least four days. In Missouri, 32-year-old Mirenda (that’s her real name, and she specified that the fourth letter is an “e”) said on day one that she was homeless because of the foster care system. That system was clearly a problem for her, as it is for many kids bounced from house to house. Eight different placements is Read More ›

Missing Person This is 30-year-old Samuel Michael Evans. He grew up in Kenmore, WA and was a star athlete. But then injuries and other health issues started piling up, which opened the door to oxycontin and other illicit drugs. Look at these before and after photos. Evans’ drug addiction and fallout with family led him to homelessness on the streets of Everett. But he always stayed in touch with his dad. Until he went radio silent this past year. Friends and family now believe he might be roaming the streets of Seattle, possibly in the Belltown neighborhood. If you see Evans, his parents are offering a cash reward. DM me if you have any information and I will pass it Read More ›

As I prepare to bring this series of weekly columns to a close after three years, I think back to 1989 when I started to research three centuries of American poverty-fighters. I wrote about them in a 1992 book, The Tragedy of American Compassion, that became the historical basis for the “compassionate conservatism” popularized by Texas Governor George W. Bush, whom I informally advised (and still like). The project fizzled during his presidency, ground down by Washington politics but also by some internal realities. Regarding help for those sunk into long-term homelessness, two of my notions proved inadequate. First, in promoting “compassionate conservatism” I emphasized the literal meaning of “com-passion”: with suffering. My goal was for the homed, particularly Christians, Read More ›

[The following is a podcast episode originally published November 1, 2021, at Humanize, a podcast hosted by Wesley J. Smith at Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism.] In this episode of Humanize, Wesley J. Smith speaks with Jim Palmer, the president of the Orange County Rescue Mission about the many causes and potential cures of America’s seemingly intractable homeless crisis. It is a crucial, if disturbing, conversation that touches upon the most existential needs of people and our mutual responsibilities to each other. Homelessness has reached crisis proportions in which even our most prosperous cities — such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle — witness thousands of people living in squalid tent encampments lining streets that provide scant Read More ›

Bob Coté, the homeless man turned homeless shelter pioneer whom I wrote about last month, used to say, “Work works.” By that he meant not only that work brings in money but also that it brings purpose and community. Paul the apostle also spoke about helping others: Do something useful with your hands, he wrote in Ephesians 4:28. Paul’s injunction to church members was strong: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…we give you this rule: ‘If man will not work, he shall not eat.’ We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they Read More ›

When San Francisco’s homeless are ready to reunite with friends and family, they can simply pick up the phone and call a hotline connecting them to journey home, a city program providing free one-way tickets out of temptation and human suffering. Rules say the transportation is exclusively for the homeless. But a joint investigation by Frontlines Turning Point USA and Discovery Institute shows that’s not always the case. Numerous tipsters told us they were getting free bus, train, and plane tickets out of this small office in the Mission District, and claimed these taxpayer-funded rides were being obtained by people who were not even living on the streets. So we went in to see for ourselves. After asking us a Read More ›

Our friends at We Heart Seattle are doing incredible work transforming lives. The testimonial below features recovering addict Stephen Dowd, who was found living in a tent before We Heart Seattle helped him get into treatment. We Heart Seattle is modeling what actually works to rescue people from homelessness. “Everybody else is focused on getting somebody housed,” says We Heart Seattle’s Tim Emerson. “I’m more focused on getting somebody better and then housed.”

“He Said, ‘They’re Coming,’ and He Ran…and Jumped.” Witnesses say a homeless man staying at the Salvation Army shelter in Seattle jumped off a nearby bridge. Unclear what triggered him. This all happened at the corner of 5th Ave & Dearborn St near the border of SODO and Chinatown-ID. He survived.