How totally ironic to have “Washington officials rip Trump order on homelessness as ‘unjust, obscene’ ” (July 26, A1) and Andrew Constantino’s op-ed “Seattle’s ‘harm reduction’ approach around drugs perpetuates the harm” (July 26, Opinion) run in identical version of the paper. The article assures us that Seattle and Washington are taking an “evidence-based strategy” that features housing first and hurt discount. Constantino explains precisely why these insurance policies have failed.
After some 15 years of a homelessness emergency in Seattle, the homeless inhabitants is bigger than ever, and the billions of {dollars} spent have confirmed ineffective. It’s long gone time for an accounting of the spending on homelessness. Recounting a modest 17% lower in emergency room utilization (with no quantification of the financial savings) is merely a distraction within the absence of a real image of the place the spending goes.
How a lot has been spent on lodges and house buildings (at $250,000-plus per unit) for housing first? How many individuals are employed by private and non-private entities serving the homeless inhabitants? At what price?
A discount in spending very nicely may not be applicable, however a redeployment of funds away from housing first and hurt discount and towards drug and psychological well being remedy (even when it’s in congregate services) is lengthy overdue.
Ross Elkin, Seattle
