Pub. Note: While we’ll continue to push the fantasy of creating Action Central as a catalytic and constant aid in dealing with the homeless/lawless crisis in Seattle (see links to prior posts below), we’re taking a time out for this three-part proposal by West Seattleite Bob McDonald and a resident of King County since 1981. Here is Part 1:
Seattle’s Street-Related Homeless Crisis Defined
By Bob McDonald
Reality: In 2018, $1.06 billion was spent to supply services to the 12,112 individuals homeless in Seattle/King County—a staggering $88,000+ per homeless person. Despite the enormous sums being spent, the segment of the homeless population living in our streets, parks, tents, vehicles and encampments continued to grow. The number stood at 6,320 at the end of 2018, causing significant public health and safety issues:
- Encampments riddled with human waste, hypodermic needles, hazardous waste, and rats, which are a blight on the city and constitute a significant public-safety risk and cost to police and clean-up.
- A well-documented significant increase in crime, ranging from drug deals, to car break-ins, to petty theft, to vandalism to assault and to rape and murder in the neighborhoods surrounding these encampments and in locations providing services to the homeless. The potential cost to business in terms of additional security, cleanup and loss of revenues, as well the loss in property values, is a cost that is being ignored by the Seattle City Council.
Why? The City Council acts as though all homeless issues are the result of rising rents and income disparity, and that all would be well if we had more affordable housing. Yet, these are the facts, based on their own 2018 Seattle /King County Point in Time Survey:
- Only 6% of the 12,112 homeless cited that not being able to afford rent increases was the precipitating cause of their situation.
- 70%, or more than 8,000, suffer from one or a combination of the following disorders: psychiatric or emotional conditions; post- traumatic stress disorder; drug and alcohol abuse; physical disability; or chronic health problems.
- 53% indicated that they were living with at least one disorder that was so disabling it prevented them from holding employment, living in stable housing or taking care of themselves. This element represents the vast majority of the 6,320 homeless living in the squalid conditions noted above.
The Point in Time Survey would suggest that approximately 4,200+ suffer from drug and alcohol addiction, yet a homeless woman living on the streets, interviewed in KOMO’s “Is Seattle Dying” documentary, stated that she had never met a homeless person living in the encampments or on the streets who was not using drugs.
The problem is exacerbated by the city’s lenient attitude towards these encampments, the use of drugs and an unwillingness to prosecute crimes committed by the homeless population. It has resulted in an influx of homeless migrants looking for a No Rules drug- fueled environment. It also has resulted in an influx of migrants with criminal histories who have been responsible for a wide array of offenses, including drug dealing, petty theft, car break-ins, shoplifting, murder and rape.
A February 2019 report titled “System Failure” provided an analysis of 100 homeless individuals with a high frequency of criminal activity in Seattle. Judge Ed Mc Kenna stated that 100% of these prolific offenders, some with as many as 70 offenses over several years, came from somewhere else. “They cycled through the criminal justice system with little accountability and no apparent impact on their behavior.” In virtually every case in which the defendant was provided a court-ordered condition, the defendant failed to comply with that condition.
Some 40% of the prolific offenders had severe mental-health issues, presenting a significant safety risk. Those with purely drug-abuse disorders involved “thefts for drugs-shoplifting, followed by trading stolen goods for cash to a stolen-property broker, typically earning 10 to 20 % of the retail value. Their drugs of choice were heroin and meth, reportedly costing $70 to $150 per day.”
No one should dispute that we have an income disparity problem or that there is a need for more affordable housing, but the solution to our street-related homeless problem is not affordable housing and may be much more challenging and costly to solve. It will take a fully committed Public/ Private Partnership.
Next Week-Part II: A Different Approach To Our Street-Related Homeless Crisis
P.S. Here are links to prior posts in the fantastical Action Central series: Mayor Durkan’s Address; Homeless Central, a First Step; background on Action (nee Homeless) Central director John Shannon; his distinction between Homelessness and Lawlessness, The Stakeholders; The Perfect Site! The ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’, Reaching For Reality, Town Hall Takeaways, Eric’s National Exposure, ‘Head Chef’. ‘Our Mission Control’ , The No. 1 Deliverable—Synergy! and Proactive Vs. Passive.
Below is Poll No. 2, with the same question as in Poll No. 1, but at a later stage of the discussion. Those who think Action Central is an Excellent/Much Needed Idea continue to run just above the 70% range. If you haven’t voted in Poll No. 2, please do so below.
[polldaddy poll=10341497]
—Larry Coffman