The Seattle-based Discovery Institute released an important study on the King County homelessness crisis which asserts that current government “Housing First” policies are causing homeless numbers to double every three years. The report’s authors proposed commonsense solutions that go to the root cause of why half of the homeless individuals say they are living on the streets: addictions and mental health issues.

The 12-page report titled “A New Approach to Homelessness in Seattle” also revealed some interesting data on where the current unsheltered individuals come from, and the separation from supportive family members is also a significant reason why many are not obtaining needed assistance.

Some of the interesting data from the report include:

• Just under 20% of the current Seattle homeless population attended high school in King County, 16% attended high school outside of King County in Washington state, and 64% were raised outside of Washington.
• 49.7% say they first experienced homelessness outside of King County.
• 73.8% do not have family members in the county.
• 71.1% are jobless,13.9% work part-time jobs, and 15% have full-time jobs.
• The average age is 46.9 and the average time being homeless is 4.2 years.
• 49% of King County’s fentanyl overdose deaths occur in supportive housing.

Study authors Dr. Robert Marbut and Caitlyn McKenney explain that there are three phases of taxpayer-funded housing a homeless individual goes through – emergency, transitional, and permanent housing.  The data shows that King County is significantly overspending on permanent housing while the percentage of funds for emergency and transitional housing has plummeted in the past 15 years.

In 2008, 55% of publicly financed housing units were permanent housing. Today that figure has leaped to over 70%.

The report recommends three immediate action items to reverse the constantly growing number of homeless individuals:

1. Allocate all unrestricted funds towards treatment and recovery programs, with the goal of self-sufficiency for those experiencing homelessness. Stating there is “a critical need” for significantly increasing the addiction and mental health assistance available to those suffering on the streets, the report contends early treatment is vital for those coming off the streets to utilize the many public and private services (including housing) available.
2. Redirect 20% of homelessness and housing funding towards an emergency treatment response for 2,450 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness who have direct connection to Seattle. Taking this action will immediately correct the funding imbalance that is currently skewed away from where data shows money is most needed – early introduction of mental health/addiction treatment and other services. Key to success will be funding both public and charitable entities that have a track record of success and are transparent and accountable for how they spend taxpayer funds. 
3. Create two clinical tracks and require all service providers to align their services accordingly.  Based on the belief found in multiple studies that those who are reconnected with a supportive family environment have the best opportunity for success, the study recommends two recovery tracks. The first is for those who have a family support network in the county. The second is for those with family elsewhere or who come from an abusive family. The key for success for those in both tracks is the establishment of a supportive network.

Anyone looking at the data of continuous record-breaking homeless numbers and homeless deaths knows the current “Housing First” methods are failing to reduce the suffering. In fact, many argue that these policies contribute to the problem.

This Discovery Institute’s study suggests a reasonable and well-developed plan to provide actual help and support to those in desparate need.

We encourage our readers to take five minutes to read this Discovery Institute report (and to also follow the excellent work of its Fix Homelessness Initiative). 

Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Seattle and King County elected officials continue to pour more and more of our money into failed Housing First policies and keep promising it will solve the homeless problem. Yet the homeless population continues to rapidly increase.

ChangeWA continues to work with Discovery to encourage Seattle and King County elected officials to discuss and enact alternative homeless strategies. Clearly what is being done today is not working. And as Einstein warned us, to not seek different methods to end the suffering is insane.