REACH

A City in Urgency Seattle is moving rapidly to expand shelter for homeless drug addicts before the FIFA World Cup comes to the city. Faster than the public has been given time to fully understand. Mayor Katie Wilson set a goal of adding hundreds of new units in a matter of months. The strategy relies heavily on taxpayer dollars to expand tiny house villages. No one questions the urgency. But speed should not replace accountability and transparency. Lack of Transparency Right now, Seattle is making high-impact decisions about land, funding, and service delivery through a relatively tight network of policymakers, advisors, and providers. And the public has not been given a clear, transparent picture of how those decisions are being made. Read More ›

The Sweeps Continue Aggressive drug encampment sweeps in Seattle are happening on Easter weekend under Mayor Katie Wilson. On Saturday, city crews removed the so called “service resistant” from the corner of 3rd Ave and Blanchard St. But they all came roaring back after cops left the area. The game of Whack-A-Mole is out of control. This is near REACH HQ, the homeless outreach division of Evergreen Treatment Services. This non-profit has received millions of dollars in taxpayer funding from the city to address the street crisis. Yet they can’t even handle the problem right in front of their building. If one of the primary agencies tasked with getting men and women into housing can’t figure this out, how are Read More ›

Out of Control As Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson prepares to deliver her first State of the City address, parts of downtown remain a drug infested disaster. Especially the Belltown neighborhood near 2nd Ave and Blanchard St. Sunday evening, I watched dozens of addicts come and go, selling fentanyl in front of children with no cops in sight. Ironically they are using the vestibule of REACH, one of the largest homeless outreach providers funded with taxpayer dollars from the city. Yet REACH leaders can’t even get the situation under control in front of their own HQ. It’s time the Wilson administration do a full audit of these failing organizations. REACH REACH is a division of Evergreen Treatment Services. A couple years Read More ›