Housing First

Michele Steeb appeared on Furthermore with Amanda Head on November 4 to discuss California’s failed Housing First strategy and its growing homelessness crisis.

Homelessness in California — and across America — has reached a breaking point. The crisis has climbed to the highest level ever recorded, even as billions more are poured into housing subsidies and bureaucratic programs that promise compassion but deliver only despair. No one bears the consequences more cruelly than the homeless themselves. Their death rate has soared by 77% in the country’s largest urban areas, a devastating indictment of a system that prioritizes housing units over human healing. Communities, too, shoulder the burden — streets overrun, neighborhoods destabilized and taxpayers funding a model that fails everyone it claims to help. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order marks the first real course correction in over a decade. By directing federal Read More ›

In a catastrophic miscalculation that exposes his continued attachment to failure, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed Assembly Bill 255 on Oct. 1. It was a bipartisan measure designed to expand access to recovery housing for homeless individuals struggling with substance use disorders. His veto comes at a time when California’s homeless can least afford more failure. AB 255, authored by Assembly member Matt Haney, would have allowed up to 10% of state homelessness funds to support abstinence-based recovery housing. These programs integrate shelter with sobriety requirements, accountability and supportive services that help people reclaim stability. Newsom dismissed the bill as “unnecessary,” insisting that current guidelines already permit sober housing and warning against “duplicative” categories. His reasoning rings hollow. California mimicked Read More ›

Exclusive Controversial homeless services provider Plymouth Housing banned me, We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez and podcaster Brandi Kruse from a secret ground breaking ceremony in Redmond, WA. But I exposed them anyway. “Our Faces Were Plastered Everywhere” On Wednesday, Plymouth hosted a private ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was invite only. Sources told me photos of our faces were plastered everywhere and security was told to keep us out. Brandi Kruse’s Reporting Kruse has been annihilating Plymouth. Our Report on Low Barrier Housing So has Suarez. She helped me expose all the crime, chaos, and death at Plymouth facilities. Plymouth Housing/PorchLight Chaos And lately, I’ve been ferociously covering the Plymouth Housing/PorchLight campus disaster in Bellevue. Residents are now Read More ›

In a memorable scene from “Casablanca,” actor Claude Rains plays a corrupt police chief ordered by the Germans to shut down a popular nightclub after patrons indulge in a disfavored patriotic song. “But I have no excuse to close it!” protests Rains. “Find one,” is the curt reply. Rains orders everyone to leave immediately. When the nightclub’s owner Rick (played by the unforgettable Humphrey Bogart) demands to know “on what grounds,” Rains exclaims: “I’m shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here!” He then cordially thanks the staff member who hands him his night’s winnings. In a similar show of manufactured outrage, executives at the National Alliance to End Homelessness filed a lawsuit September 11 in Rhode Read More ›

Damage Control Embattled Plymouth Housing CEO Karen Lee is doing damage control after our series of reports highlighting all the crime, chaos, and death in her Bellevue, WA facility. I have obtained an email Lee recently sent to Bellevue councilmembers. Based on her talking points and spin, she appears to think they’re gullible and stupid. Page 1 Lee claims some of the content about Plymouth contains misinformation or misleading characterizations. But she fails to call out specifics and also does not name the news organization or social media accounts. Page 2 She then goes on to say the Plymouth model works and tries to prove her point by citing debunked studies from liberal academics. However, Lee once again fails to Read More ›

This is “Housing First” Another crazy incident at Plymouth Crossing in Bellevue’s Eastgate neighborhood Tuesday morning. 911 dispatchers say a call came in about a 65 year old woman in a wheelchair going on a bender. She was suspected of using meth or fentanyl. Just in the past couple weeks, the FactoriaLLS team has documented more than a dozen cases of fights, drug use, and other disturbances. There were likely more incidents that were missed. This Plymouth Housing/PorchLight campus triggers the most 911 calls in the city. Ladies and gentlemen, this is “Housing First” and “harm reduction” in action. Your taxpayer dollars are funding all this crime and chaos. This is what Bellevue Mayor Lynne Robinson voted for and what Read More ›

Michele Steeb appeared on The Shaun Thompson Show to discuss homelessness. Steeb explains the pivotal shift in homelessness policy that occurred in 2013, the new direction President Trump is steering homelessness policy today, the financial corruption behind Housing First, and more.

Michele Steeb appeared on The Tudor Dixon Podcast to discuss why Housing First isn’t enough. Steeb reviews the history of Housing First, why it has failed, the dismal state of homelessness in California, and why treatment- and recovery-focused policies are the correct path forward.

No Regrets King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci admits she helped usher in the problematic Bellevue Plymouth Housing/Porchlight campus. I asked her point blank if she has any regrets allowing the facility into the community since it triggers the most 911 calls in the city. She did not answer my question directly but Balducci did defend the “Housing First” approach to solving the homeless drug crisis. Listen carefully in the end. She could only cite the former Silvercloud Inn location as the most successful “permanent supportive housing” facility in King County. That’s because it’s not being run by Plymouth. The Christian based Salvation Army is operator in Redmond. Notice the stark difference? Communities Worried About Plymouth Expansion We have tried to Read More ›