@1 Wrong.

Drugs and Mental Illness are causing certain homeless people to behave in a conspicuous manner that freaks you out. Homelessness is a much larger problem than that.

@2 Substance abuse and mental health issues are consistently among the leading self-reported causes of homelessness in our region. See https://kcrha.org/king-county-point-in-time-count/ at p.31.

And these issues unquestionably are what keep the majority of our homeless population from transitioning to stable housing:

"54% of individuals experiencing homelessness report suffering from a psychiatric or emotional condition such as depression or schizophrenia. Of those individuals suffering from a psychiatric or emotional condition, 67% state their condition keeps them from holding a job, living in stable housing, or taking care of themselves." Id. at p.32.

We will never, ever make meaningful progress on homelessness unless substance abuse and mental health treatment is a priority.

"more like this" - why more ugly architecture?

@4 and units with thin walls offering no privacy at all. My last MFH experience was a front row seat to the daily domestic drama below me, and the frequency of my neighbor's urination patterns on the other side of my wall. Who wouldn't want that? s/

@3 has it ever occurred to you we have no clue how to solve the problem of mental illness and addiction? And as long as people have control over their lives, they may choose NOT to get help. How do you fix one of the biggest obstacles in the helping professions: inspiring people to make positive choices for themselves?

@6 That occurs to me every single time I am in downtown Seattle or on a Metro bus.

@1:

I challenge you to spend a few weeks or months or years unsheltered and get back to us on how strong your will power is when confronted with the persistent bleakness of your situation. Hell, about one-quarter of our population turns to some form of mind alteration when they have a bad day at work or their favorite sportsball team loses a match; and you find it surprising - not to mention morally offensive - that the unhoused seek out whatever relief they can under logarithmically harsher circumstances.

The state would get more bang for their buck if they invested all that money in cities like Chehalis and Longview and the Tri cities. Not everyone needs to live on the west side where everything is really expensive including land.

@8: Yes, if I was homeless I'd probably try meth on a cold and rainy night, but that only underscores points made in @3 as the vulnerable fall into to a vicious cycle.

That’s all horseshit. Why can’t anyone here take responsibility for their actions? If I was homeless I’d first consider why of all the people I know had all given up on me and wouldn’t let me crash for a few nights. There would be a reason they did more than likely drugs. Then I’d think there must be a way to get out of that and that would be to stop using. You can’t make anyone try to change their lives. People have to make the conscious decision to do it on their own. Hannah, you’ll be here soon writing the drivel you do. Aren’t you ready to be an adult?

@ss
gosh
if Only
the World
could see things
as Clearly as You See them

what's it Like
being underwater
for six months in Tight
Quarters with a hundred men

stealthfully manuevering WMDs
to Deploy at a moment's No-
tice on whomever Fails to
submit to America's lust
for spreading the Joys
of Capitalism to those
disinclined to share
in Our Nation's
Optimism?

@11 -- Build it &
they will Come?

Brilliant.

Any non-homeless person who starts by talking about themselves, shouldn't be trusted. "I'd get a job," "I'd figure out my bad choices," "I wouldn't inject drugs," "I would at least test my drugs first," "I'd grab onto some bootstraps," "I worked hard, in a restaurant," "I had trouble, and I worked through it." More money for housing may not, directly, stop someone from taking a dump on your car, but money for affordable housing is undeniably, a good thing. If you're having a panic attack about funding for affordable housing, maybe you've become too much of a reactionary?

@2. 100% correct. My interactions with the homeless which is non stop all day, makes it very clear that these people are not waiting for a job at " the mill" to open up. These are addicts, most of which are also suffering from severe mental illness. The theft and violence that plays out near and at my place of employment has increased 10 fold due to the recent addition of 2 large complexes turned into housing for these folks.. Jobs are abundant and remain so as hiring is at an all time low. No one is applying,, Grocery stores have jobs that take no skill other than showing up on time and doing what you are told to do that pay 18 to 24 bucks n hour of which 99% of them will have no part of..

The tents are their homes.. Doing drugs and stealing to pay for it all is what they do all day... That and scaring the living shit out of the customers that, amazingly enough, still shop where I work.

((@1.oooops))...100% correct. My interactions with the homeless which is non stop all day, makes it very clear that these people are not waiting for a job at " the mill" to open up. These are addicts, most of which are also suffering from severe mental illness. The theft and violence that plays out near and at my place of employment has increased 10 fold due to the recent addition of 2 large complexes turned into housing for these folks.. Jobs are abundant and remain so as hiring is at an all time low. No one is applying,, Grocery stores have jobs that take no skill other than showing up on time and doing what you are told to do that pay 18 to 24 bucks n hour of which 99% of them will have no part of..

The tents are their homes.. Doing drugs and stealing to pay for it all is what they do all day... That and scaring the living shit out of the customers that, amazingly enough, still shop where I work.

@8: The point is not that locals first lose shelter and then turn to drugs, or succumb to mental illness. That is a fictional narrative, which the Stranger just keeps pushing in the face of all known facts. The reality is that persons already suffering from substance use disorder and/or mental illness arrive in Seattle already homeless. More money for local affordable housing is great, but it will not do anything for the vast majority of homeless persons already on Seattle's streets, nor will it prevent locals from "falling into homelessness," because the roots of Seattle's homelessness crisis are neither economic, nor based in Seattle.