Why are west coast cities suffering through a seemingly intractable growth in homelessness? What can we learn from the relative successes of Amsterdam, Lisbon, Miami and even New York City?
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Homelessness
On The Accuracy of Self-Reported Data
In the urgent debate around Seattle’s homelessness crisis, many articles (such as this otherwise great one in Crosscut) cite the statistic that 35% of those who are homeless in the Seattle region have some level of substance abuse. It’s often a very central part of the framing, especially by those […]
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Bridging Seattle’s Homeless Divide: Toward Common Ground
Fears matter, and they often prevent action. Each side of the debate needs to have a cogent, believable answer for the other side’s worst fears. That’s currently missing from the debate. But only then can we make progress. I’m lucky to have very smart, good faith, prominent and well-intentioned friends […]
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“Seattle is Dying” : KOMO News Special
Last night, an hour-long program aired without commercial interruption in Seattle on the addiction crisis and homelessness. It’s an important watch. I found it devastating, riveting and motivating, all at once. There is already much being made over the fact that (a) it comes from KOMO News, a station now […]
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Two Competing Philosophies in the Head-Tax Debate, Venn Diagram Edition
Letter from Convention-Goers to Seattle: Your Homelessness Problem Is Out of Control
“Based on my recent visit, I believe the problem is out of control.”
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Why was the Seattle "Head Tax" Repealed So Quickly?
I was there at that raucous council meeting to repeal the vote, I signed an Open Letter from Tech Leaders Opposed to the Proposed Head Tax, and I was a volunteer signature gatherer and small donor ($275) to the repeal referendum effort. Why did the council vote 7–2 to […]
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Seattle Considers Mobile Injection Van
The “Head Tax” isn’t the only major controversy in Seattle politics these days. Seattle City Council is forging ahead with plans for a publicly funded “safe injection” facility. I’m just getting up to speed on the discussion here, and wanted to pull together a post that summarizes where we’ve come from, […]
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Where is Seattle’s Growth In Homeless Coming From?
A vexing question at the center of the debate around homelessness policy is: where is the growth in Seattle’s homeless coming from? Specifically, to what extent is the growth due to locals losing their homes and being displaced vs. inbound growth from other regions of the US? Yes, I know […]
Read More Fixing the Homeless Crisis
It’s going on three years since Seattle declared a homelessness crisis, but the homeless population in Seattle continues to rise. The amalgam of programs we’ve tried since 2015 hasn’t stemmed the growth in Seattle’s homeless counts; in fact, the numbers have actually accelerated, particularly of those living in vehicles. There […]
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