There is increasing discussion among community leaders for expanding the use of involuntary treatment for individuals with severe substance abuse issues. This strategy would largely benefit those currently living on the streets and classified as “chronically homeless.” However, to effectively assist these individuals, there must be a significant change in local and state government’s spending priorities regarding homelessness.

In 2016, the Washington State Legislature passed “Ricky’s Law,” which placed involuntary holds on those with dangerous addiction problems on par with those who have severe mental health issues. This legislation received overwhelming bi-partisan support before being signed into law. Ricky’s Law provides a public safety tool to place addicted individuals who are a threat to themselves or others against their will into temporary detox or treatment.

A series of 2023 court rulings have since defined lengths of stay and the courts’ role in ensuring patients’ rights are upheld. An addicted person in crises can be held for 120 hours (five days) for detox/treatment. After that the courts must approve keeping the person for 14 days. If the person is still a threat to themselves or others, the courts can extend confinement for up to 180 days.

Normally, once the person detoxes and has stabilized, they often agree to voluntary treatment.

Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling said that increasing funding for involuntary treatment is necessary for it is part of the proper “mix” to help people get off the streets. He stated that it has been his city’s experience that a combination of law enforcement and outreach is necessary to motivate homeless individuals struggling with addiction to get off the streets into treatment.

Yet, the mayor said the problem is the lack of beds. “We only have 16 beds for Ricky’s Law in King County. A few months ago, I could have walked down the streets of Burien and found enough people to fill those beds.”

While King County has spent a half billion dollars buying and refurbishing hotels into “housing” for still-active addicts (at $333,000 per unit) as part of its “Health through Housing” initiative, it has not spent a fraction of what is needed to help people recover from their destabilizing addictions. As we have repeatedly seen throughout the county’s housing programs, drug use and violence are rampant and very few residents (if any), ever receive treatment to become self-sufficient. Thus, nearly all stay permanently dependent on taxpayer-subsidized support and never return to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.

For the amount of tax money to buy and refurbish one former hotel room, dozens of homeless addicts could have received treatment and be on their way to self-sufficiency. It is a disturbing waste of taxpayer dollars to instead spend this money on a former hotel room where drug use and illegal behavior will continue to take place.

A recent federal report revealed that Washington State has the highest number of people categorized as “chronic homeless” in the country with more than 4,200 individuals who have refused the numerous offers of free housing and remain homeless, mostly due to mental health and addiction issues.

Mayor Schilling encouraged his fellow Democrats to reexamine our regions’ homelessness spending. “Democrats in Washington need to start taking this seriously by funding treatment beds. And the main part of that serious conversation needs to be involuntary treatment for drug addiction and severe psychiatric health needs.” 

This would be a 180-degree change from current thinking by current state and local leadership, who stubbornly  deny that addiction and mental health issues are a root cause of homelessness. These beliefs are held despite the largest survey of homeless individuals in the country revealing that more than 65% self-report that they suffer from addiction/mental health issues (the true figure is likely even higher). Politicians like King County Executive Dow Constantine want to blame only housing issues (to justify funding a large wasteful housing bureaucracy) for the cause of the county’s never-ending homelessness crisis.

This goes to the heart of the current debate on homelessness. For more than a decade, our political leaders have repeatedly raised our taxes and spent billions on “Housing First” solutions. This has resulted in a 63% increase in homelessness in King County over the past decade and a 78% increase in homelessness statewide during the past dozen years. These “housing first solutions” are clearly not working for this population.

The true solution is nothing new.  ChangeWA has joined others (including the Discovery Institute) in calling for a reallocation of funds away from ineffective and expensive housing programs and focus those dollars on treatment for mental health and addiction. This is where we can see both short-term and long-term improvements.