And the fantasy continues…
Latest statistics from several sources indicate a decrease in the number of homeless, although that flies in the face of the perceived situation on the streets and in other sanctuaries they occupy in the City of Seattle.
The first order of business—once Action Central is up and running—would be to get a handle on the correct homeless headcount, as the single source and authority for this information. Consider these ideas from a concerned West Seattle resident.
“My approach would require each of the homeless now living on the streets and in parks, tents, vehicles and other places not meant for human habitation to register as homeless, at which time they would be fingerprinted, facially identified and provided an identification card.
“They also would undergo an intensive interview to determine how long they have lived in Seattle and their reasons for being homeless. They then would undergo a physical exam as well as a psychological interview.
“Is it expensive? Yes, assuming $1,500 to $2,000 per person as a guestimate—the cost would be from $10 to $13 million. However, that’s a small price to pay for the information received, considering the $1 billion-plus per year the city is currently spending on homelessness.
“For the first time, we would be able to answer the liberal and conservative voices on all sides of the issue and deal with the root causes, not the symptom of homelessness. We can then begin to address the help these people really need.
“This process would allow us to:
• Prioritize those ready to enter the Housing First Program.
• Identify those who recently came to Seattle because of its liberal policies toward drugs and homelessness, have not held a job recently and prefer to live an unregulated life. They would be given 48 hours to leave the city and bus fare back to the city from which they came.
• Identify any person subsequently living on the street without an ID card. If they refuse to register or leave the city, they would be arrested and confined to an isolated cell for 30 days, during which they would again be asked to register. This approach appears to be working in the cities of Marysville and Arlington. If they can, why can’t Seattle. (https://mynorthwest.com/1211486/marysville-mayor-homeless-problem-social-workers/).
• Identify those suffering from drug and alcohol addiction and mental and physical disorders who require short, intermediate or long-term rehab programs in a centralized setting. If national statistics are any guide, this segment constitutes a large percentage of the homeless population. The only way we’ll find out is through a data-driven process.”
There’s much more in this citizen’s well-thought-out plan, but identifying, getting a correct headcount for and categorizing the individuals involved must be the basis for any successful effort to solve a complex problem.
Right now, we have too many cooks spoiling the proverbial stew. Action Central would be the much-needed “head chef.”
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 and Eric’s National Exposure.
Results of poll No. 1 on how readers like the Action Central idea were: Great Idea, 71%; It’s OK, 25%; and Bad Idea, 4%. Here’s Poll No. 2 with the same question, at this later stage of the discussion.
[polldaddy poll=10341497]
—Larry Coffman