Housing First

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 ›

Homelessness affects cities across the country, but it’s not just a local issue, though media cover it that way. Nor is homelessness mainly about housing; rather, it’s largely about untreated mental illness and drug addiction. Consistently misdiagnosed, homelessness is being wrongly addressed. And the policies that give rise to homelessness largely come from Washington, D.C., not localities. A bill called “Housing PLUS” has been introduced in Congress by Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., with 22 sponsors, to start to rectify these policies. A national mental illness crisis has been building since the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill began in the 1960s. Drug addictions also have increased and most surveys show that the “homeless” are often both mentally ill and addicted. Cases like the Read More ›

May 17, 2023 Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (R-KY), a senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee, unveiled legislation to reform the failed Housing First policy at a press conference at the House Triangle. The Housing Promotes Livelihood and Ultimate Success (Housing PLUS) Act of 2023 is intended to end the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) exclusive reliance on the so-called “Housing First” methodology, which recent U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness data demonstrates is a failed experiment. Specifically, this bill would prohibit the HUD Secretary from prohibiting, limiting or otherwise restricting award of Continuum of Care (CoC) funds to providers because they require wraparound services (e.g., job training, addiction treatment) or because they are Read More ›

Real Talk Before the SODO sweep, I ran into “Strawberry,” a woman who recently found an apartment after living on #Seattle‘s streets for years. But Strawberry says she came back to see her homeless friends because this is her community and she can’t let them go. She says the reason why some people return back to the streets is because of loneliness. Let that sink in. I hope every non-profit leader, elected official, policy maker considers this crucial detail before trying to warehouse homeless people…out of sight and out of mind. They need community. Not just “housing first” or “wrap around services.” They need to be surrounded by people who genuinely care for them.

Jonathan Choe joins Fox & Friends to debunk the claim that capitalism is to blame for the homelessness crisis in our cities. Instead, he points to leadership continuing to push failed policy that neglects to address the root causes of the issue.

Housing First is Failing Seattle Times reporting @KC_RHA outreach workers downtown say many tents there are not used by homeless people as shelter to live and sleep, but for the sale of illicit goods. I’ve been reporting on this with VIDEO EVIDENCE for months.@mayorofseattle @CMAndrewJLewis @govinslee @kcexec “We can all see with our own eyes whether there are few people or not living on sidewalks and alleys and doorways. The complicating factor is that some of the disorder in downtown has been called “homelessness” but is not caused only by people without housing.” -John Scholes, CEO Downtown Seattle Association Whack a Mole I have never witnessed an encampment in #Seattle return this often. Tents along 3rd Ave near City Hall Read More ›