Is this a proud city ….

[waynster]

ask yourself… Is it time to do something or should it just be swept under the rug more …..

https://komonews.com/news/local/komo-news-special-seattle-is-dying

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[CarDriver]

My issue with the homeless/druggies. Sorry,don’t have any compassion for their self made problems. I have 3 relatives with mental health issues. They’re productive citizen’s living on their own. Why? Their FAMILY’s take care of them. Where are the families of all these people?? Sure, they’re not legally responsible but in my book they’re morally and ethically responsible. Where are they?? If the family member was a famous sports/movie star do you really believe they would be ignoring them??? I work at a big company. Work around lot’s of men and women who didn’t have the best of childhood’s. Are they bothered by their past? u bet, but they’re drug/alcohol free productive members of society. My other problem with these people: ACCOUNTABILITY. Growing up I was taught that if we made a mistake we learned from them and did better next time. What I see is NOBODY being held accountable! They’re being told that they’re all “victoms” and don’t worry they’ll get everything for free. My compassion goes to the REAL victom’s those, who have truly fallen on temporary bad times. They’re the ones that I want to see get helped. The news did a story a few months ago on an eastside woman that fell on hard times-got temporary housing and financial help. She got back on track and is now volunteering at that agency. THAT’S the type of person that I’m glad to see given help.

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[Michael Waldo]

I heard someone from Union Gospel Mission interviewed. He said every night the “love van” goes out to the homeless camps with socks, hot chocolate and offers of a bed. They have empty beds to offer but get few takers. Folks don’t want to go inside because they can’t do their drugs or drink, or they have a dog, or they are so mentally ill they think the CIA wants to imprison them. I think we need to enforce the no camping and no shooting up drugs in public laws. The Mission says folks come from other places and call our city “Freeattle” because they can camp anywhere they want, do drugs and no one will stop them. Start enforcing the laws and word we get around and folks won’t come here from all over. By law we can’t force people into treatment. We need people smarter then me to come up with real solutions. I too won’t go downtown to shop or eat. I don’t feel safe and I don’t like the harassment from the some aggressive street folks. Last time I drove downtown at night to eat, I had to dodge several either stoned or mentally ill people who just wandered into the street in front of me. I spent time in India and it appalls me that our city looks like the the street scenes I experienced there. We just need some cows wandering the street and some rickshaws.

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[PangolinPie]

I agree with CarDriver that people’s families should be able to help them….but if you’ve ever dealt with someone in the clutches of an addictive drug like meth or heroin, you know that there often comes a point where the drug is stronger than familial love. The addiction can tear apart even the non-addicted people in a family, and sometimes people have to step away to preserve their own lives.

The solutions proposed in that video (“Seattle Is Dying”) – which, by the way, everyone in Seattle should watch – are realistic and we should try them. Whenever someone says, “Ok, what’s YOUR solution” to the homelessness problem, point them to that video. There are things we could at least be trying! And by getting the addicts off the street, the homeless who are not addicts might have a better chance at obtaining services that can help them too.

Seriously, though: watch the video.

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[JoB]

just a question.. have you been in one of those shelters?
would you sleep in one?

a few years back the only path off the streets for a friend was one of those shelters..
one of the better ones…

and i feared constantly for the friend who had to go live there to get help.

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[PangolinPie]

JoB, I don’t know who you’re addressing but if you’re talking about the Rhode Island solution proposed in the video, all I can say is you haven’t watched the video. It’s linked in the first comment; please check it out. These aren’t the shelters you’re thinking of.

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[JoB]

Pangolini Pie..
i have watched the video and i read the comments above..
the shelters they described do not exist in Seattle.
if we want to get the homeless off our streets there is an economical solution that works
give them the kind of shelter where they can begin to rebuild their lives.

what we do now is chase them out of the camps they create for stability and put them back on the merry go round of looking for another place to camp or a shelter they are locked out of during the day.. without providing the time and space for them to even clean themselves to go job hunting.,., hauling all of their belongings with them.

it’ a lose lose scenario.. for which we currently blame and incarcerate them.

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