homelessness

Two weeks ago I noted how Colorado Springs city officials a decade ago handed a $3 million federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant to Springs Rescue Mission (SRM) leaders. Later, City Hall gave $3 million more. That was because SRM, an explicitly Christian organization, was ready to help homeless wanderers in Colorado Springs, and no one else was ready. Strict church-state separationists didn’t like it, but city housing executive Steve Posey noted that the HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) contract detailed public benefits: “SRM would build a commercial kitchen; they would build an overnight shelter for several hundred people; they would build a day center with showers and laundry facilities. Nowhere in those contracts, or any ongoing contracts Read More ›

What is it like hanging around the Springs Rescue Mission (SRM) for several days? I wrote two weeks ago about its environment early in the morning. I’ll show now what it was like at 4:45 p.m. on a hot summer day. Ninety men and 29 women were lined up waiting to get into the air-conditioned dining hall. Most of the men had beards. Many of the women had leathery skin. Almost all were tattooed. The things they carried: Two enormous pillows, gigantic plastic bags, heavy blankets, spare pairs of sneakers — and almost everyone had a cell phone. (Medicaid provides free phones or tablets.) The T-shirts they wore: Just Do It. Never Too Much Bacon. The things some of them Read More ›

New For the past few years, all eyes have been on Seattle’s homeless drug crisis. But Kent’s street problems are being compounded by the “nomad class.” These are the people who have tapped out from society and are refusing shelter and services. They want to stay in nature and have taken over prime wetlands and greenbelts, building treehouses to evade enforcement in this South King County city. Beautiful streams are now clogged with trash and the environmental cost to clean this up is easily in the millions. I spent the past week investigating the situation which is spread out across the city. I will be launching the entire series soon. Here is a preview.

To understand why Springs Rescue Mission was so interesting to me, you should know something about the other three Christian homeless missions I have stayed at recently. Knowledgeable people call them model programs. That’s true, but each is different. The Orange County Rescue Mission (OCRM) in California is a beautiful place with an intensive, every-hour-occupied program in which individuals can advance over eighteen months or so from heavily regimented “freshman year” to a freer “senior year.” It’s perfect for men and women who are young enough and physically/mentally able enough to work again in the outside world. Eden Village in Springfield, Missouri is a beautiful strip of brightly-painted tiny houses in which beaten-down older people, some mentally disabled, can live Read More ›

My columns over the next few weeks will become part of an eventual book, but before too long goes by, it’s time to describe how I spent part of my summer vacation in 2024. The summer prior, I had enjoyed the great beauty of the Colorado Springs area, including the Garden of the Gods, with its beautifully soaring red rock sandstone formations at 6,400 feet above sea level. It’s the number one park in the United States, according to Trip Advisor, but my Colorado Springs sojourn this past summer was on run-down Las Vegas Street. If the Garden hints at the glory of God, that street on a Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. proclaimed the wreckage of man. A grizzled wearer Read More ›

In Seattle, the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness is on track to double in just the next three years. Robert Marbut appeared on KIRO Newsradio’s John Curley Show to discuss the policies that have exacerbated the crisis and the solutions available to the city and county. Discovery Institute released a report last November detailing our policy recommendations for the city of Seattle to curb their homelessness crisis.

Major Breakthrough Burien leaders say more homeless drug addicts are getting into detox, treatment, and housing. And the results are visible on the streets. At this week’s council meeting, city leaders credited “Co-Response,” a collaboration between first responders and Human Services. But most of the praise is going to Kristine Moreland and her outreach group The More We Love. Critics questioned the city after Moreland received a contract from Burien to do outreach work. Now it’s looking like a brilliant move. Her team’s rapid response and personal touch to helping the lost are game changers. And other King County cities are noticing the results. The More We Love Councilmember Stephanie Mora made the initial pitch to contract with Moreland’s group. Read More ›

Update After being arrested multiple times and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to Seattle’s Dr. Jose Rizal Park, homeless man Steve Irwin is back on the streets. The legal system has failed to get Irwin the help he needs and now taxpayers are on the hook. Bail Reduced and Paid The city requested to maintain bail at the previously set amount of $5,000. But Judge Andrew Simons lowered the bail to $1,000. Irwin was bailed out by Daniel Roth Tenenbaum. Pretending to Enforce the Law This now signals to all homeless people that the City of Seattle will allow illegal camping and then burn through taxpayer dollars pretending to enforce the law.

“This Would Not Happen If This Were the Beautiful Waterfront” A brand new coalition is forming to defend Seattle’s Chinatown-ID. These community activists say politicians at the local and state level have failed them on public safety. They’re demanding more resources and attention to address crime, chaos, and death on the streets. Meanwhile, conditions in other parts of the city have improved. Which is why an elder went up to the podium today and torched Mayor Bruce Harrell by saying, “Mayor Harrell, he’s Asian American, does he give a sh*t? I don’t think so.” The Petition As I have reported now for the past year, Mayor Harrell is losing support in the CID because it has turned into a human Read More ›

“Don’t Talk to Him” Not sure if this DESC Navigation Center worker shows up for Monday’s press conference in Little Saigon. I don’t think she likes all the attention and scrutiny.