There was one surprise in the responses to the five important questions about the homeless/lawless crisis besetting Seattle—and lots of other cities. Plus—there’s news about a new Seattle/King County homeless authority. But first, the quiz results:
• Who should take the lead in addressing the homeless/lawless crisis? King County (40%); Seattle/Other individual cities (30%); Washington State (25%); and The federal government (5%).
• What do you consider the No 1 cause of the homeless/lawless crisis? Drug addiction was the runaway leader at 60%, followed by Mental illness (20%); Inadequate funding (15%); and Housing (5%).
• What is the best way to monitor the homeless/lawless crisis? A central monitoring facility (50%); Mandatory registration for homeless/lawless individuals (30%); and The current navigation-team approach and Voluntary registration (10% each).
Pub. Note: It’s encouraging to see that the Action Central concept we’ve been promoting as a logical first step is resonating with those paying attention to the problem.
• What do you consider the main reason the homeless/crisis persists unabated? Lack of a coordinated approach (45%); Restraints on police conduct (25%); Liberal approach to the problem and Leniency of the courts (15% each).
And the surprise, because of the high degree of optimism at a time of general pessimism over lack of progress in addressing the crisis…
•What do you think is the best possible outcome over the next 10 years? Sizable strides in abating the problem (60%); Elimination of the problem (35%); Continuation of the status quo (5%); and Some cosmetic reductions (0%).
Meanwhile, The Seattle Times Project Homeless team wrote this article about elected officials throughout King County getting their “first peek at how a proposed regional homeless authority could operate—and its proposed $110 million annual budget.” But suburban leaders also expressed concerns about their decision-making powers, once the new organization is up and running.
And lest we get lost in numbers and bureaucratic red-tape, it’s well to remember the human element in all of this homeless talk. Be sure and take a minute to read Eric Lacitis’ article in The TImes about the death of “Three Stars.”