Housing First

The following press release for the new documentary “Behind Closed Doors” is from ChangeWA. ChangeWA and Ginny Burton are friends of Discovery Institute. Our work on homelessness is featured in “Behind Closed Doors” in an interview with our program coordinator Caitlyn McKenney. ChangeWA has teamed with filmmaker V Ginny Burton to produce “Behind Closed Doors,” a shocking 30-minute documentary which exposes the unsafe and drug-filled conditions within King County’s low-barrier housing and provides strong evidence that these are not conditions where formerly homeless individuals “can get their lives back,” as King County Executive Dow Constantine has repeatedly promised. Burton’s interviews with residents and workers from several of King County’s housing projects reveal that most residents continue to use illegal drugs, Read More ›

Culture Change At this point, there is no doubt the vast majority of Democratic lawmakers in WA support failed “Housing First” policies instead of solutions that address the root causes of homelessness like drug addiction, mental illness, and broken relationships. That’s because they just vote along party lines or are heavily influenced by the homeless industrial complex. But courageous Democratic leaders like Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling are pushing back after realizing these very same progressive policies have destroyed his community. Schilling’s willingness to cross the aisle and find common sense solutions are some of the reasons why he is now winning. Refused to Capitulate Schilling refused to capitulate to King County and Dow. This was the turning point for Burien.

“Housing First” remains a massive policy failure. Homeless in Spokane are being given free taxpayer subsidized housing, but zero requirements to go into addiction treatment or job training. So they end up back on the streets to get high because they have nothing better to do all day. Rinse and repeat. Listen to this guy describe the scene outside Catholic Charities buildings. Drug dealers are preying on addicts at all hours of the day. When will local politicians address this madness? Spokane is now officially the Seattle of Eastern Washington. Pete Serrano is on a listening tour so he can work with addicts to break this cycle.