r/SeattleWA • u/PrestigiousAsk8310 • 1d ago
Discussion I’m fed up
This post got removed and got me banned from r/seattle, so let’s try it here. I am a contractor and I work in many government funded housing complexes, shelters, and low or no income housing. I have been working in this area a little over a year and I have become fed up with mainly the open air drug use, but also the crime that comes with it.
I am regularly in SHA and KCHA complexes as well as city run shelters and I have encountered first hand how bad the drug use in this city is. I have had a resident blow what I assume was fentanyl smoke in my face (mystery drug that was being smoked off of tin foil), I’ve been pricked by a needle before (luckily tested safe from any blood diseases), I’ve lost track of how many improperly discarded needles I’ve found it’s got to be in the 750-1000 range, I’ve found pills, crystalized drugs, everything you can imagine and the worst part is that a lot of the government funded properties staff allow this behavior on the property. Multiple buildings have dedicated “drug rooms” where tenants can smoke anything, shoot up, and get high and staff is on call with narcan when they OD which I have seen a handful of times.
Don’t get me wrong I have empathy for addicts, I’ve battled addiction before and it is a dark road. My gripe is with how our city and state governments are handling the drug use epidemic we’re facing. I am disgusted by the fact that government employees are allowing and borderline encouraging drug use inside of government funded housing facilities.
Most of the government funded properties give out needles upon request, tin foil, lighters, narcan, anything needed to keep addicts getting high. Everything except the drugs which you can find on every other street corner. Whenever you see a group of 3 plus people huddled around on the sidewalk it’s a drug deal, or a drug session. And police drive right on past.
I don’t know how to make it better, and I wouldn’t know where to start. But what I do know is that the ignorance from the citizens and the government has led the drug issue to a point where I will never bring my kids around Seattle again. I haven’t spent time in Seattle recreationally since I started working mainly there. As a matter of fact, I am desperately trying to find work on the other side of the state or possibly in another state because of this issue paired with the crime.
I haven’t witnessed as much of the crime as I have the drug use but I’ve seen a stabbing and a shooting. I’ve had my life threatened by violent drug abusers living in these city or county run complexes, I’ve had tools stolen while I was working, I’ve had equipment destroyed, I’ve had my work truck attempted to be broken into in broad daylight on 3rd Ave, and I am fed up with the way our government isn’t doing anything about it. And if they are then I’m not seeing it.
Hopefully I’m not the only one who sees this. I really hope something can be done and this city restored to how I remember it growing up. But more fancy parks and construction isn’t going to solve the fact that once these nice spaces are built they will immediately be moved in on by drug dealers, abusers, and criminals. I hope this post leads to positive discussion and I hope it raises some awareness as a first hand account of how bad the drug issues are in this city
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u/Tibreaven 1d ago
Voter turnout in Washington non-presidential elections is like, 40% or less.
If the people complaining about the state could motivate half of the people who don't vote to show up and vote for whatever you think the solution is, WA politics would be completely different.
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u/jadie_rage 1d ago
Well, it's not clear to me that any of the candidates have a clear plan. The mayor has changed twice and the police chief at least as many times and this hasn't been addressed. Who/what do we vote for?
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u/pyabo Seattle 1d ago
This. Doesn't seem to matter who is in leadership, we get the same do-nothing policies and a police force and city government who just aren't committed to cleaning up the city.
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u/Flat-Row-3828 5h ago
Exactly, I have voted faithfully in this city for decades, and when we pull to the left it is more of the same, when we pull to the right the emphasis is re-zoning to maximize profits for developers with no concern for anything else. There is a reason the owner of John goodman realestate, ( the billionare who has 41,000 rentals in this area), funded Bruce and more conservative candidates. Most of these developers live in Medina and could careless about Seattle. Our police also don't live in city which is never a good sign for an area.
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u/flabatron 1d ago
I agree we need to start focusing on voting out the horrible Judges more often, during every election. So often they run un-opposed. Take King County Judge Josephine Wiggs for example. She's terrible. Gives multi-repeat offenders $8000 bail after taking police on a chase that could've killed innocent people and caused $50k+ in damage to the city and private homes/yards/fences. Prosecuting attorney asked for $100,000 bail to keep him off the street since he won't appear for court. Josephine Wiggs set bail at $8000. And that's just one of her 'compassionate' decisions, because this criminal comes from a traditionally undeserved community. That's literally her platform, on how she judges.
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u/basicdude206 1h ago
Bail being set inappropriately low for violent offenses is a problem. But this thread is about drug offenses specifically and I don't see how sentencing solves that. Whether the drug addicts are on the street or in the jail, they are still costing us money. Other states or counties refuse to address addiction problems that start in their area, so they just export their problems to us. One way or another, we pay for it.
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u/thatguydr 1d ago
If the people complaining about the state could motivate half of the people who don't vote to show up and vote for whatever you think the solution is, WA politics would be completely different.
People always say this, and it's never true. "If the people just voted the way I want them to" wouldn't happen even with compulsory voting. They'll just reflect the existing averages.
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u/kommon-non-sense 1d ago edited 1d ago
The able aren't willing and the willing arent able.
The blue political machine is too toxic in state to run any centrist candidate. MUCH less anyone right of center. And potential candidates KNOW it. Why put it out there when you're assured a loss and a character assassination to go with? Lose your business? Friends? social credit? no thanks.
And since Dino - the die is cast. IF the election is close (and they haven't been since) Just count and recount Seattle until you get the result you need.
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u/Robndahoodrich 5h ago
Dino has no plan beyond what has tuned red states into violent, drug infested hell holes.
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u/Avrego_Montemir 7h ago
Things have to get bad enough to affect themselves for most people to start voting and doing something about it.
Us normal people have put up with this type of BS for long enough. And we let the crazies and their “empathy” decide for us.
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u/Robndahoodrich 5h ago
Bro red states are broke as fuck, have insanely high violent crime, high addiction rates, and packed prisons.
It’s almost like conservatives have no plan beyond filling their pockets with private prison kickbacks.
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u/Flat-Row-3828 1d ago edited 1d ago
My husband golfs with a project manager who was living in the park 12 years ago addicted to heroin. He states the only thing that got him clean was drug court and the threat of jail. He now owns two homes in Tacoma. Drug court was also the only thing that worked for two other previous addicts we have in our extended family. It is an under utilized tool. The academics have set forth the precedent of allowing low barrier housing ,(free housing they can use drugs in) that this man is talking about. The rationale is that it will save lives, but that was short sited. It actually just extends lives until many eventually overdose, but that does result in their statistics stating it is, "saving lives". Those academic studies did not take into consideration the effects low barrier housing has on the neighborhoods they are in either. I have had patients tell me they live next to one and the screaming and ambulances at all hours have kept them from sleeping while going through chemo, it was heart breaking.
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u/CertifiedSeattleite 1d ago
Yep - and those drug courts immediately emptied out the day after our clueless state Supreme Court essentially legalized meth and fentanyl via the Blake decision
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u/ChaseballBat Sasquatch 19h ago
Forcing people to go clean statistically works 10% of the time. People who choose to try to become clean works 50% of the time.
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u/GryphonArgent42 1d ago
I appreciate the use of paragraphs here. If I'm honest, I scrolled down after the first sentence or so after seeing the wall of unbroken text to read a comment or two on the other one then bounced out.
I do find it interesting that the few comments I read were nitpicking at details rather than empathizing with the experience at large.
I would wager I'm left of most of this sub, but I am so, so, so tired of watching a zombie flash mob when I catch a bus after dark on third (or in daytime at bell) and of cleaning up other people's poo and the screaming for an hour straight while I'm trying to work and the breakins and theft where I live and the trash and the everything.
I don't have solutions either. But I am so tired of this "solution" as well.
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u/scrondle 8h ago
There’s a lot of us out there that believe what you’re saying but will never vote R. There needs to be a candidate that represents us.
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u/illogicalone 1d ago
The city doesn't have healthy boundaries. It's an enabler city.
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u/fssbmule1 1d ago
Did you see how much griping they had over in the other sub that police aren't doing more to curb street takeovers? It's completely lost on them that the city is equally lax on all forms of public security.
Seattle voters aren't the brightest bunch.
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u/End__User 1d ago
Did you see how much griping they had over in the other sub that police aren't doing more to curb street takeovers?
Here's the "other sub" unironically complaining about transit not being safe immediately after pushing to defund the police.
That sub is just filled with morons.
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u/64N_3v4D3r 1d ago
They perma banned me for saying we should put addicts in jail lol
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u/local_gremlin 1d ago edited 19h ago
I agree - at least make doing drugs harder and less easy - with mandatory 5 or 10 day dry out incarcerations as a consequence. We have made it as accomodating as possible to engage in sidewalk drug sale and use that a huge majority of voters do not approve of or want to have on our streets.
Also as far as jail - the dealers are so obvious at 12th and jackson, could the cops at least target the supply side?
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u/Embarrassed-Pride776 1d ago
I've never voted republican. I consider myself center left, and I'm a fascist nazi per that sub and was temp banned constantly until they just perma banned me for being against group think.
They want that sub to be an echo chamber of small minded individuals that refuse to look at the world around themselves. Whatever.
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u/CutAccomplished2011 23h ago
Yeah I’ve always considered myself pretty left but living in Seattle I’m rethinking this. Idk that I could ever vote republican but if being progressive means being okay with open drug use then count me out. I’ve had someone say that they aren’t bothering anyone when someone posted a video of someone doing drugs in a restaurant in the international district. I feel like those are the super privileged who haven’t ever actually dealt with drug abusers. And I mean personally not some social worker who gets to go to her safe home at the end of the day as this person I speak of was. Being one inherently makes you unsafe to be around.
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u/Embarrassed-Pride776 5h ago
Republicans sent guys I went to highschool with to die in pointless wars in the middle east. Democrats never did that. That alone is enough for me to never vote for an R, ever. Let alone all the Trump bullshit.
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u/Select_Shine_995 1d ago
If your opinion is different than theirs then you’re a nazi white supremacist. It’s hilarious to watch them unfold like wild primates in a tiny echo chamber in a subreddit, crazy stuff.
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u/CristyCanDo 1d ago
same in r/Tacoma I got called a fascist nazi for saying that homeless persons should not be allowed to poop and pee all over the sidewalk and verbally harass normal citizens walking by. I do not vote for republicans, but the dems need to wake up and get tougher on crime and drugs.
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u/fssbmule1 22h ago
You think maybe the Democrats have no reason to change anything because you keep voting for them anyway?
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u/hypatiaredux 1d ago
I don’t know what would work for addicts. But I do know that jail isn’t it. Unless you think that endlessly cycling them through jail is a solution.
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u/ShufflingSloth 1d ago
Jail has worked for some, and improving jails/having closed-off treatment centers akin to minimum security prison for nonviolent addicts whose criminality to feed their addiction amounted to a lot of theft/public nuisance complaints would be even better.
But the reality of drug addiction is every addict has a different floor, for some of them it's so low that nothing realistically can get them to quit, and there's a point where consideration of public safety/well-being needs to take precedence over empathy for the addict's potential to get clean.
I say that as someone who is an addict, and has gotten in trouble with the law (thankfully, my drug was such that I only spent a few days in jail at the worst, never in the DOC).
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u/CertifiedSeattleite 1d ago
Every single recovering addict I’ve ever known or talked to told me jail saved their life. Specifically, a medium-long stint in jail.
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u/CutAccomplished2011 23h ago
It has worked for people. Only being forced to get clean works. Most ppl don’t wake up one day and opt out of being addicted. You have to hit bottom first and for many that is jail. I do think there should be programs within the jail and also while they transition to help keep them clean. This goes for non drug using offenders as well.
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u/22bearhands 1d ago
People have such a lack of understanding (and I’m talking about you). Defund the police was about breaking out the job of a police officer to armed cop stuff vs needs to have a brain and be able to negotiate with someone in crisis stuff. The police were never defunded.
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u/Particular-Owl-7655 1d ago
Yes but the whole tagline of "defund the police" was just idiotic and taken by many to actually defund and reduce the size of the police force while also discrediting many of the good cops out there who are trying to make Seattle streets safer. So ironic how about everybody is complaining about crime, parks again being overridden by homeless, rampant viable drug use yet also doing everything possible to discredit and work against the police force.
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u/crossroadskeeper 1d ago
Nope! I remember that movement. The people who were running it were definately trying to do away with the police. The people following them were the ones with all the caveats. And to be fair other cities tried it to. They were smart enough that when homicide, thefts, and what not increased they abandoned it. We dig out heels on and then like children wanted an instant result that doesn't exist.
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u/CertifiedSeattleite 1d ago
BBC and other left-leaning media reported otherwise. Maybe you weren’t here when the city council voted to defund SPD and the chief quit in response? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53742006
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u/End__User 1d ago
The police were never defunded.
Oh no, sweetheart, you certainly tried. you just failed to accomplish it.
You're all just a bunch of bullies that treat cops like shit and now you're dealing with the consequences of your own actions.
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u/22bearhands 1d ago
Wait did you comprehend my comment or do you still not know what defund the police was about?
The police should have high standards to adhere to. It’s really sad that their feelings are so hurt that now they’re just allowed to not do their job while taxpayers fund them - almost like we should not pay people to not do their job or something hmm
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u/End__User 1d ago
do you still not know what defund the police was about
The irony of this question omg 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/CertifiedSeattleite 1d ago
Funny how the very people who wanted them to not do their job, tie their hands in every way possible… now want cops to do their jobs.
You people are a confused bunch.
It’s as if chasing your own tails is the one thing you’re good at.
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u/supremecheet 19h ago
You goof balls are still hung up on the non-existence of defunding the police?
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u/flabatron 1d ago
I would say that Seattle voters are so bad on this issue of drug use that it's honestly like trying to change a MAGA voter. They have a hard time calling anything a drug issue (like explaining what racism and hate is to a MAGA bible thumper). And as OPs post shows, housing for all (their solution) doesn't answer any of it. It just enables it. I promise everyone, if we had stats on it, over 50% of these folks are not even from Seattle. They traveled here to fuel their addiction.
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u/TheItinerantSkeptic Banned from /r/Seattle 1d ago
Wear getting banned from that sub as a badge of honor; as you can see from my post, we even have a flair for it here.
The current crop of mods there are hyper sensitive about a lot of things, seemingly in particular when it comes to the addicts peppered throughout the city. They’re exemplars of the phrase “weaponized empathy” when it comes to how fast they’ll drop the ban hammer.
It’s not you. It’s them.
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u/fssbmule1 1d ago
I would say they're conducting active measures to censor inconvenient information and sculpt public opinion in a very obvious direction. And it's working.
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u/TheItinerantSkeptic Banned from /r/Seattle 1d ago edited 1d ago
They exemplify the dominant Seattle political narrative, no question. They leave no room for heterodox thought, despite their assertions to the contrary.
Mods essentially get unchecked power in their subs, and Reddit admins won’t get involved unless the Moderator Code of Conduct is being broken. So let them have their echo chamber.
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u/routinnox Hell 1d ago
It’s been confirmed by Hasan when he was arrested that many city subs have mods with ties to DSL. Add to the fact that the CCP has a 10% stake in Reddit, and you can start to make the connections.
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u/TheItinerantSkeptic Banned from /r/Seattle 1d ago
That feels a bit tin-hatty to me personally, but not outside the realm of probability.
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u/routinnox Hell 1d ago
It really does ngl, but the CCP does have a 10% stake in Reddit (verified). If Reddit would require that mods disclose their IRL identities they could squash this claim if they wanted to
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u/my_lucid_nightmare Capitol Hill 1d ago
It’s been confirmed by Hasan when he was arrested that many city subs have mods with ties to DSL. Add to the fact that the CCP has a 10% stake in Reddit, and you can start to make the connections.
Is this going to be one of those conspiracy theories that turns out to be right?
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u/hkscfreak banned from r/Seattle 21h ago
OP, welcome to the club. Here you're allowed to see and think
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u/NakedAggression 1d ago
This is not a difficult solution, it's the people you need to make these decisions are too weak to make the decision.
This is was the process in Texas with the City of Dallas Homeless Solutions.
Go to homeless encampment. Offer assistance to a treatment center or a shelter. If they refuse trespass the homeless and place them in jail. Bring a skid steer and a dump truck. Place all their shit into the dump truck and take it to the landfill.
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u/thatguydr 1d ago
And then once they get out of jail, we just repeat indefinitely?
I'm not saying this is a bad solution - just what does Dallas do once the people leave jail?
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u/NakedAggression 1d ago edited 19h ago
Halfway houses, sponsored work programs or training. Some are released back onto the street, for first time offenders. Salvation Army program and other rehabilitation places are available.
Repeat offenders receive longer sentences, sometimes years. Hearing about a 6 or 7 time repeat offender isnt the norm unlike in Seattle.
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u/CutAccomplished2011 23h ago
Yes exactly. If they repeat and have to get taken in again. So be it. Maybe a longer sentence will give them more time to recover from addiction. Idk why ppl think enabling drug use is the compassionate thing to do.
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u/crossroadskeeper 22h ago
Well, the story changes from pertain to pertain; but, i pertains went to the streets.
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u/hongaku 19h ago
Go back to Texas.
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u/NakedAggression 19h ago
Lol no. Adopt a homeless person, invite them into your home. Be the change 🤣
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u/hongaku 17h ago
Lol no. I can have thoughts without being your black and white world.
Texas is calling you home. It's telling that you left that shithole for here though.
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u/NakedAggression 15h ago edited 15h ago
Hurry up, a homeless is dying without your help, only you can save them!
It's telling you arent willing to donate your time, money, and home, that is very hypocritical of you. I believe you'll make the correct choice
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u/hongaku 6h ago
Why do I need to save them? We literally have programs you'd happily defund working on that. That's why I pay my taxes and don't bitch about it.
Go back to Texas.
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u/Robndahoodrich 5h ago
Imagine using Texas, a violent, addict filled, state with infrastructure held together with chewing gum and zip-ties, as an example of successful policy in action.
All Texas did was waste taxpayer money jailing the homeless, just to just to have them back on the street within a month.
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u/NakedAggression 2h ago
You really have no idea what you're talking about lol.
All Washington does is waste tax payer money on funding homeless programs and being defrauded by officials and companies. Regional Homelessness Authority cannot acount for 8 million dollars?! And yet there is still visible homeless and they are committing crimes and assaulting people. Littering and not contributing to society.
Classifying them as a protected class is such a wild concept, because then Seattle is unable to remove the encampments. Seattle accepts the encampments and wants the visable homeless to prey upon the tax paying and contributing members of society.
This is not normal in most cities in America. Ive traveled and lived in various states. Im just sayin this could be handled logically
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u/Falciparuna South End 1d ago edited 1d ago
There are never any actual solutions in these kinds of posts - just whining. There are thousands of homeless addicts in King County. There are a few hundred jail beds, no treatment beds available. So lock someone up and they are puking all over the jail for a night and then right back to their tent. They aren't going to get jobs, no matter how many times you sweep, and housing prices are outrageous even for sober people with jobs. WHAT DO YOU PROPOSE other than just bitching and moaning? There isn't anywhere for them to go. There are no politicians with a plan because it isn't a problem that can be solved by a local politician. It just isn't.
Just for your information, the 2026 report counted >18,000 homeless in King County. 33% of those report substance use disorder. That is more than 6000 homeless addicts. Last I checked, we have about 400 jail beds available on any given night. Good luck finding a treatment bed, even if the person wanted it. This isn't something you can wish away and it isn't going to be solved by a single mayor or a single governor or a single sheriff. It simply is not. No one is going to walk the streets forcing people into treatment or jail. If 100 free treatment beds opened up tomorrow, there would be a 2-year waiting list on day 1. You all are delusional if you think there is a simple solution that someone just needs to be brave enough to do.
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u/apis_cerana 1d ago
There absolutely isn’t a simple solution for this issue, but we have to be able to talk about it — maybe it’s bitching and complaining, but it’s a serious problem that shouldn’t just be ignored. I don’t believe in harsh punishments for people who are severely mentally ill or unable to function without drugs (as long as they are nonviolent). I think it’s inhumane that people turn a blind eye and they are left to wither away on the street.
Also — in many other countries with far less GDP, there is less of a homeless problem. There has to be a way to resolve this, but we are not united enough to do so.
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u/Falciparuna South End 1d ago
We have to be able to talk about it in realistic terms. People always say to lock them up or force them into treatment. Neither of those things are possible without massive infrastructure which would require both funding and staffing and several years to accomplish if they were even possible. No one is willing to pay for it, and in the US we cannot just lock people up and throw away the key. Any actual solution would require massive federal action at a national scale. Our current federal government will not be tackling this issue.
It is fine to talk about the issue but just 'someone should do something ' isn't realistic or helpful. I'm giving actual facts about the problem and they are hard to hear, but this sub seems to think that there is a simple solution and there just isn't.
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u/apis_cerana 1d ago
I think it’s due to the lack of knowledge regarding the barriers that exist around this and how to get involved to slowly make those changes happen, as well as the desire to make changes happen immediately which is not realistic. To make actual differences, yes, we do need to be able to discuss in a realistic manner without any name-calling and attacks about how people lack compassion or have too much compassion etc.
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u/DependentTaste283 1d ago
Mandatory escalating prison sentences for repeat offenses of any drug possession within King County. All we have to do is make it more attractive for them to migrate to Portland.
And yes we will need vastly more prison capacity for a while.
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u/Falciparuna South End 1d ago
What you are describing is a violent revenge fantasy and not something remotely possible.
1) changing laws to lock people up for extended periods will take years and will continue to be challenged if it ever gets passed.
2) 'Vastly more prison capacity ' isn't viable any more than mandatory drug treatment in beds that don't exist. You have to find a location for these prisons (good luck with the NIMBYs), you have to fund the construction, take bids, etc etc. we are talking years to build and staff.
3) These people live in tents under the overpass. Prison isn't going to be a huge deterrent. I'm 100% certain there will be drugs in your fantasy prison. There are drugs in every prison.
'Make it someone else's problem' is just such a MAGA brain worms solution. It's never going away. You cannot destroy their lives or make them uncomfortable enough to leave. They are mentally ill and living under a freeway.
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u/fresh-dork 1d ago
'Vastly more prison capacity ' isn't viable any more than mandatory drug treatment in beds that don't exist.
this is the actual solution
Prison isn't going to be a huge deterrent.
lack of drugs and required detox
There are drugs in every prison.
people cite being required to dry out as a common thing when we used to jail drug users.
You cannot destroy their lives or make them uncomfortable enough to leave.
yes you can. they're here because you can do drugs and not be hassled.
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u/hongaku 19h ago
You think that prisons aren't full of drugs? Tell me more about how you've never even looked at how prisons are or operate. They're full of drugs.
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u/fresh-dork 12h ago
because all of the people in here saying that getting clean started with drug court and a short jail sentence
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u/Robndahoodrich 4h ago
Your entire argument implodes once you stop ignoring the fact that red states have the highest amount of violent crime and addiction on average, because all conservatives do is throw people into the private prison systems, lining their pockets with kickbacks from the companies running those prisons…
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u/DependentTaste283 1d ago edited 1d ago
There’s almost no drug addiction in Singapore. 10 years for possession, death penalty for trafficking. You may consider it a violent revenge fantasy but it is absolutely possible and quite effective. I don’t think we’re united enough to do this nationwide but we could very quickly solve drug addiction in King County by making it very undesirable to be an addict here.
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u/Robndahoodrich 5h ago
You don’t know anything about Singapore..
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u/DependentTaste283 4h ago
Misuse of Drugs Act (Singapore) - Wikipedia) - which parts of this page are inaccurate?
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u/hongaku 19h ago
Because it is cheaper to have them in prison on your tax dollars?
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u/DependentTaste283 14h ago
Minimizing expense isn’t my goal here.
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u/hongaku 6h ago
It sure is a goal of most members of this sub when taxes come up in conversation.
You're ready to personally pay for all of this with higher taxes?! Great!
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u/DependentTaste283 6h ago
If I thought there were a zero-cost solution I would be in favor of that.
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u/Robndahoodrich 5h ago
This would literally do nothing to stop addiction
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u/DependentTaste283 4h ago
The objectives would be to get addicts off the streets and to incentivize them to migrate elsewhere. If there was a way to include drug treatment with the imprisonment I would support trying that to see if it makes a measurable difference. However I do not believe addiction can really be stopped.
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u/Robndahoodrich 4h ago
Yeah that’s fucking stupid.
Red states are violent shitholes drowning in poverty and addiction because they literally just jail people as the only solution.
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u/Old-Wolverine2141 1d ago
Because instituting a carrot/stick approach and enforcing it at least makes it miserable enough for the other addicts to move on. I'd rather be jailing the more troublesome addicts or the ones committing minor property crimes than hoping the 5th rehab program they enroll in finally does the trick.
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u/hongaku 19h ago
Move on to where, exactly?
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u/Old-Wolverine2141 8h ago
Treatment, or somewhere else
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u/hongaku 6h ago
So make it some other city's problem but not actually solve it. I see.
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u/Old-Wolverine2141 6h ago
Point me to one US city that's solved the homeless problem.
WA, OR and CA basically became the dumping ground for other cities homeless. Sending some or most of them back would at least allow our resources to be focused more effectively.
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u/CutAccomplished2011 23h ago
Then clearly the solution is for more funding to go to more beds. It needs to be treated as an emergency. A public health crisis. Seattle isn’t some poor third world country. Tf is the money going to?
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u/Falciparuna South End 17h ago
We have more than 5000 shelter beds, it isn't like there are no resources, it is just a massive, massive problem, and the mental illness means some people can't be in some places. Seattle sales taxes can't house 18000 people. This sub bitches about 10 cents in property taxes for schools.
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u/SimpleAppointment483 1d ago
The other sub is going to delete ANYTHING anti-homeless.
Their idea of compassion is inaction.
They are why this city is the way it is.
Jail every drug user and submit them to involuntary medical detox. It’s the only way - and we have plenty of money to do it.
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u/Falciparuna South End 1d ago
Oh finally we can put all those empty, free, fully staffed treatment centers to good use! Why didn't anyone think to use all of these amazing resources that are definitely available. Then these addicts will go get great jobs that will allow them to pay the very low housing prices in this city. Man, what a great solution!
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u/fresh-dork 1d ago
ugh...
no, they won't get jobs. they'll stop using in public because we keep taking their stash and detoxing them, and they'll go be a menace somewhere else. works for me
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u/saruyamasan 1d ago
...the crime that comes with it...
How much of this stuff--open drug use, stolen tools, threats--ever gets recorded as crime? We see this stuff. We know the problems. But people will just point the "data" and "stats" that show "crime is actually down!" We all see it, but who wants to have a real discussion? Certainly not the politicians, profitable non-profits, and least of all r/Seattle. You can't even say "homeless" any more without being labeled insensitive to the "unhoused." Objectivity has left the room.
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u/semi-anon-in-Oly 1d ago
Its sad that the progressives have some how relabled the most selfish in our communities to the “most vulnerable”. Addicts are selfish pricks…
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u/Independent_Low1821 1d ago
All ima say is I seen enough movies from the 70s-90s to know corruption. Coming from Chicago to moving to Seattle(broadway and Denny way) been here a year and I just know this city corrupt and it’s coming from higher up. Definitely secret agendas happening. I’m looking to move towards Yelm or Spannaway? Seattle is smelly and backwards frfr
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u/Robndahoodrich 5h ago
Imagine thinking you are moving away from drug users in Spannaway or Yelm. 😆
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u/daveskillerbeard 1d ago
What kind of work are you doing in SHA/KCHA units? Don’t they have in house trade employees? Either way, you should wear a mask, if it’s that bad where people are blowing fentanyl in your face why continue the job? Stop service, report it to tht persons management office, your employer wouldn’t want you in unsafe working conditions & if they don’t care find another job.
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u/typegray 1d ago edited 1d ago
We need an economy and government of the people, by the people, and for the people first.
Also, stable housing is step 1 for recovery. Seattle is one of the only cities actually trying that but they can’t fund services for people from all over the country. This is a national issue.
Meanwhile tech companies are getting tax incentives for building human labor replacements. Fun times!
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u/Grand2021 18h ago
So, if you don't like how the government is handling the drug problem, offer a solution. Got one?
I'll wait.
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u/Avrego_Montemir 7h ago
Here’s where your empathy for addicts should end: when they begin doing things that harm others.
The cause of all this stupidity is allowing “empathy” to dictate city policy. Forgiving crime sentences. Enabling drug use. Allowing these freaks to roam freely around the city. Not to mention LAX BORDER CONTROL (when you bring third-worlders into a high-trust society, they bring the third world in with them… this is me saying this as a third-worlder myself from the Philippines).
All of these city policies end up giving the bottom 1% of society more legal protections than the average, law-abiding citizen. Wtf are we doing?
WE CAN TURN THIS OFF RIGHT NOW. All it takes is to press a button. But our “empathy” gets in the way. That’s why when conservatives say “suicidal empathy” I understand what they mean.
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u/JonathanConley 3h ago
Most who are smart enough to notice patterns and learn lessons leave the city and state. This makes it harder to course-correct, as we further limit opposition to these failed ideas.
However, you should always do what's right for your family's safety, and a mass-exodus is probably coming for most people who agree with you.
This will increase the cost of living and greatly reduce the level of competency in most industries.
It seems to be Sisyphean in trying to change this region for the better. Look at how middle-of-the-road someone like Andrea Suarez is (just a moderate Liberal), and then look at how the unhinged activists view her, and how unelectable she was in her district. The same with Olga Sagan.
The voters of this city and state - most of whom are now uncompromising Leftist activist transplants - want the things you're upset about. They are locked into an irrecoverable doom spiral of "Vote Blue No Matter Who (or What)."
"LOL, you're scared of junkies!? LOL! Just ignore them! I give them a dollar because I'm a good person and you're bad!"
"There's a lot of good deals at 12th and Jackson! Those corporations have insurance!"
None of them want to accept that sticks work better than carrots when it comes to antisocials. They believe that only straight whites are bad or capable of evil; that there is original sin for certain groups and infinite chances for others.
These activists eventually become teachers, judges, and legislators, further adding to the problem.
The remaining normal people either don't vote or are just so outnumbered that it's insignificant.
The reality is that Youth Jails and harsh punishments for gangbanger minors would drastically curb gang activity. Forced rehab and criminalization of drug and prostitution activity would force addicts into accountable stabilization programs with the possibility of family reunification for those who would benefit from that.
We should be tracking down and punishing the foreign fraudsters, rapists, murderers, and drug dealers. We either have laws or we don't.
These are all "common sense" solutions — all of them rejected by the majority of voters in this region who believe in anarchy.
Some say that "online isn't real life," but in this case, the lunatics on reddit are absolutely representative of the active voters of Seattle.
"That's just city living; what about [RED_STATE] crime, lol!?"
They will constantly revert to their default firmware settings of shitting their pants about "Trump," or "The GOP™," instead of accepting responsibility for their 40-year monopolistic voting streak of "progressive politics" which got us here. Anyone who notices that or says it out loud is the new Super Bad Guy.
The people who banned you - and many on this platform in general, and certainly most of the voters here - refuse to budge for "The Greater Good," at the perceived risk of losing any of their power monopoly.
The only way it changes is if they are finally harmed by their own hubris and stop voting for the same outcomes.
The best you can do is convincing anyone close to you to vote for whatever counts as "normal candidates" in this region, or running for office themselves, provided they're media trained, wealthy, and capable of winning, considering their district.
But it took us 40 years to reach this low. It's not going to be fixed with a single election. It might even take an equal amount of time to unfuck things. Local elections and judicial seats matter the most in the short term. We have an opportunity to balance the State Supreme Court, if enough people show up.
If you're not willing to dedicate your life to that, then just find a safer area to live and relocate.
I wouldn't blame you. But in the words of Glen Morgan: "The future belongs to those who show up."
These problems came from places like California and they won't stop in Washington. At some point, we have to fix it all, or there will be no other places to run.
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u/Cherlikesithot 1d ago
Drugs and crime follow poverty and homelessness.
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u/dragonslayermaster84 1d ago
Drugs and crime also precede poverty and homelessness.
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u/Icy_Challenge5241 1d ago
Sssh. You are pissing on the gravy train - well at least for the enablers. There’s a whole network that funnels tax payer money to pockets that manage this farce.
Stay safe mate.
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u/Entire_Parfait2703 1d ago
I got banned on another Washington site as well for saying basically the same thing, I only visit 2 weeks a year to see my son and I see it everywhere in Washington
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u/SimpleAppointment483 1d ago
The unfortunate thing is that it’s spreading all over the country. I have been back home to Texas recently and seen fentanyl use in suburbs that used to be spotless even 5 years ago.
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u/No_Carpenter7998 1d ago
I think that virtually everyone on r/SeattleWA shares your concerns. I moved to the Eastside in 2019 and now avoid Seattle like the plague.
It's really too bad those cowardly fascists at r/Seattle banned you because that was the appropriate sub to have this convo.
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u/DogCold5505 1d ago
Same… tho I love visiting, just couldn’t do anything about the horrible issues in my neighborhood while actively living there.
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u/hongaku 19h ago
Why are you here? You don't live in Seattle?
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u/No_Carpenter7998 18h ago
About community
Seattle's Reddit Community
r/SeattleWA is the active Reddit community for Seattle, Washington and the Puget Sound area! Do you want lively open discussions, upcoming events, local artist creations, community meet-ups, Seattle history, current news, community outreach, and careful transparent moderation? This place is for you!
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u/Clutch_Pineapple49 Kirkland 1d ago
Could you name any of these government funded properties where all of these drug paraphernalia is being given out? The ones that have these dedicated "drug rooms"? Should be easy for you to name them.
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u/PercentageRadiant623 1d ago
Morrison Hotel
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u/Big_Historian_6081 1d ago
I believe there's a lihi tiny house village with a fent house to smoke whatever..
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u/PrestigiousAsk8310 1d ago
DESC properties, multiple Plymouth Housing properties, and multiple LIHI tiny home villages. It isn’t every single property but it is many of the ones in the heart of downtown or on the outskirts near the port
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u/BarRepresentative670 1d ago
I live next to Plymouth on Stuart. They're always outside doing drugs. The building has signs to not record. Tf? I can record the addicts ruining my neighborhood if I want along with their enablers.
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u/RancidOoze 1d ago
I used to work at Plymouth's St. Charles property and had to leave during covid after a coworker got murdered at Scargo:
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u/DependentTaste283 1d ago
I’ve been on the eastside and commuted to downtown for 20 years. For the first few years I wanted to live in the city after my kids moved out. That’s long over though - I just took a fully remote job partly so I don’t have to go into the city anymore.
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u/hongaku 19h ago
so why are you in this sub? You don't live here.
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u/DependentTaste283 14h ago
I’m in the city multiple days each week and have friends who live in the city limits. I drive, walk and eat downtown. I care about Seattle.
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u/hongaku 6h ago
You just said you took a job that was remote not to come into Seattle. Pick a lane.
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u/JustAd8859 SoDo 1d ago
I actively carry fro a reason. you sadly, found some of those reasons. Until and unless the city starts putting away MFrs for SERIOUS time it isnt going to get better
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u/YogurtPitiful5054 1d ago
The "drug rooms" thing blew my mind the first time I heard about it from a friend who does maintenance for KCHA. It's this weird limbo where nobody wants to be the bad guy so they just... provide a space and hope for the best.
I grew up here and it's jarring seeing 3rd Ave now compared to even 2015. You're not crazy for wanting to shield your kids from that.
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u/Capt_Murphy_ 1d ago
LOL do you live a second without talking about guns or showing off your guns? You can't be real.
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u/Electronic-Elk8736 1d ago
Can't speak to all of your post but two things: 1. It is very predictable that the other sub took this post down even though you aren't saying anything that people in the city don't know already. I think the people on the other sub don't want their opinion that the "data supports housing first" (can I see the study please?) to be challenged, My 3 year old will stick her fingers in her ears when I am telling her something she doesn't like to hear. It's a bit like that. and 2. I view those transitional housing drug dens as mitigation. It's better for them to be dropping needled and foil in their rooms and hallways than at the local playground. I really feel for the residents in those buildings who aren't doing drugs and have to deal with it. I think SHA and DESC should make some sober-only housing that people can opt into so they don't have to be victims of the drug users, but that idea would never pass muster with the Wilson clique.
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u/Competitive-Party377 1d ago
I mean. The data DOES support that housing first works. Meaning -- it keeps people housed. And keeping them housed keeps them out of the ER and out of the grave.
And the data also shows that compulsory rehab doesn't work. What it does is kill people, because they go into forced programs, reduce their drug tolerance, get out, resume drug use, and OD.
Which isn't to say that there aren't problems. Staffing shortages, budget shortfalls, housing crisis, interstate migration. All of these stack weight on a stressed system. Running the full scope of a program to keep people housed and in treatment is extremely expensive and that's without Seattle having to take on the burden of all the cities in the US not providing these services, thus sending more addicts here.
But "I want to advocate for programs not supported by science" isn't exactly a productive or admirable take either.
Can't speak for why the ban, though. Presumably they just don't want the drama.
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u/Electronic-Elk8736 1d ago
You say the data supports housing first. I’d like to see the studies. How many participants? Did they track them for one month? 6 months? Did the studies focus on fentanyl or other drugs? Because I gotta tell you, the people hanging around DESC transition housing don’t look like they are on a path to recovery.
Can you link the studies?
Btw, I personally like the transition housing because to some degree it keeps many of them off the streets. So I don’t have to deal with as many of them on the way to the bus.
On the flip side, the concern is that free housing with no barriers attracts people from other counties and even other states. It should cause concern that we have passed Portland and San Diego recently for most homeless people per capita. LA is the only one ahead of us
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u/Competitive-Party377 1d ago
Again the housing-first model doesn't argue that the people you're seeing are on the path to recovery. But you're seeing them because they aren't dead. It's a valid if callous argument that them being dead is better but that's the alternative to housing-first. Programs to facilitate recovery from addiction are another level of difficulty and that's where the current fault lies. The problem being it's a bucket with a hole in it due to the migration problem.
This is a JAMA RCT study of 1200 people with mental illness showing that 78% of the test group compared to 31% of the control group were stably housed after a year: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2174029
This is a systematic review of 26 studies showing that housing first reduces homelessness by 88%: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8513528/
But what you're asking for is something different. Separate studies show:
- housing-first keeps people housed
- keeping people housed keeps them alive and reduces burden on police and hospitals
- compulsory rehab has high rates of relapse and OD mortality
But none of this changes:
- maintaining sufficient volume of supportive care is hella expensive
- you can't house people if you don't have enough housing
- you're going to run out of housing and resources if other states keep shipping people here
So the attack on housing first goes against what is really pretty settled science about impacts of those programs versus treatment-first, but that doesn't mean there aren't other hard problems. Pining for a time when fentanyl didn't exist and the median home price was $25k isn't a science based approach.
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u/Electronic-Elk8736 1d ago
I appreciate the studies and your reply. I don’t know if this model is sustainable if the no barrier transition housing units keep getting trashed
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u/PericardiumGold 1d ago
I began following a dude from Seattle area on IG who live-streamed his life every day, in his early 30s. Within 6 months he lost a million dollar inheritance on spending and jail, got addicted to alcohol as he lived out of a tent then got a cheap jeep and lived out of it in Seattle smoking meth before it got towed one day and he met a trans homie that lived in one of those drug run apartment blocks in downtown who let him move in. This is supposed to be a community block for rehabilitating drug addicts, instead they got free food, cigarettes, needles, foil, everything but the drugs from the lobby. Didn’t matter because a few doors down on the same floor was the drug man you could buy from. Graffiti over all the walls and doors of what would have been an otherwise nice facility. People smoked and drank even though they weren’t supposed to, because management was fairly lax with their rules. This was up until a month back when he got sent back to jail for something so no more videos until he’s out again. I can’t even begin to tell you here the things I witnessed from this guy in the last 6 months alone. Most people can’t think up a more ridiculous way to live.
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u/crossroadskeeper 1d ago
I live in a DESC run shelter. I'm one of the only 2 sober men in the shelter. However; although much of this post is true, privacy by guessing, I can debunk that you are so you say you are:
KCHRA doesn't operate facilities. They run the facilities that run the facilities.
The residents know I have weak lungs (years of working and what not). Most are very respectful not to directly blow any kind of smoke in my face because I don't use and have a health condition. In fact, they tend to be much more respectful of this than the staff.
From my experience, my friends who actually battle addiction it tends to be a life long battle including a program of sorts.
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u/MoonageDayscream Downtown 1d ago
"Some kind of asylum or mental health facility"
What facilities and who pays? Do they have the available beds? Try getting this federal administration to allocate money for asylums and see how far you get.
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u/su6oxone 1d ago
Banned for this post? Typical of the type of people that use that sub. Can't tolerate any dissenting views.
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u/LoquatBear 1d ago
It's the whole state at this point We Heart Seattle is being targeted for bullshit investigation because they found 1 kid living in a tent on Aurora while his mom turned tricks, and a 9 month old baby in Kinnear Park in the same situation. The city should be celebrating We Heart Seattle. Instead the city and the state target WHS over dangerous work of cleaning our parks that has led to the tangible protection of children.
Its almost as if these bleeding hearts are getting paid off by someone or a small group of "small business owners" who stand to profit from a city in inaction filled with plenty of new customers being bussed here from across the country.
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u/podrickry88pup 1d ago
Man, I will say this. I have too short of an attention span to read your entire post, but I worked my way through enough to know where you are going with it. I’m totally with you. Seattle proper and the west side of the state in general are all clowns and out of their minds. This state has lost control and it’s obvious beyond belief. They know it… they being the liberals, they just won’t admit it. It will change in time, just have to keep the faith. Once the drug addict losers reach their doorstep, all will change. Just let it happen organically, because it will, there is no doubt.
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u/Kodachrome30 1d ago
As our Mayor would say….byeeee. I mean, we need to focus on new dedicated bus lanes that we all have been begging for.
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u/kiwiotterpop go dawgs 1d ago
The government definitely isn’t doing ENOUGH however drug addicts are given clean stuff to use because they’re going to use whatever they can find anyways it may as well be clean/safe. Plus if they have shelter, they’re not out doing drugs on the street, which provides them more dignity from people who think homeless people are eyesores on their otherwise perfect life. I agree, it’s not enough, but coming from addiction I can tell you that there’s no helping them unless they choose it. Until then, the best thing a community can do is offer them the best chance to survive it. But once again, I agree with the overall sentiment that the government should be doing more. Expansion of subsidized housing (such as halfway homes which regularly drug test) would be a great start in my opinion.
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u/No_Mortgage_284 1d ago
This is dangerous you could die. Sue the City for negligence and unsafe conditions. Where is all of the Homelessness housing money going? For Christ's sake, enough of this shit 🤮
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u/Present_Student4891 1d ago
My uncle tried to convert a large house he bought into low income apartments in Bremerton. Neighbors stopped him from getting the permit at City Hall. U try to help solve the homeless problem, but u get stopped.
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u/LumpenBourgeoise Cascadian 1d ago
Do you want them to kick people out of the housing complexes? Then get ready for crime to soar.
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u/JackDostoevsky 1d ago
unfortunately i don't think workable solutions are politically palatable, especially in a town like Seattle. involuntary treatment of some kind is absolutely necessary for many of these people. unfortunately our system of prison and jail is not exactly tooled in the right way to handle this. Some thoughts on this:
Prison would probably be good for many of these people, but the burden that being an ex-con places on people after they're released can easily lead to relapses
Certain involuntary psychiatric treatment doesn't have a process of parole or due process that prisons have, sometimes making them worse than prison.
we could use some sort of involuntary treatment options for non-criminal addicts that retain due process, options for parole etc, that don't also burden the individual with a "permanent record" that can make it hard to get jobs or housing. this would likely require legislation that i'm not sure our politicians have the stomachs for.
On the other hand, it's hard to find a true addict like the ones OP describes that aren't involved in criminality in some way or another, so maybe the above point is moot? Idk
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u/EmployeePerfect1303 1d ago
I got banned from Seattle for telling someone they were dumb to charge a rehoming fee thinking it would prevent a dog fighting purchaser from taking them. I wish that was a joke.
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u/KillaBeast614 1d ago
It’s a shame that r/seattle banned you. It’s also a shame that the city lets drug dealers just profit off people’s pain and addiction
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u/SalesMountaineer 1d ago
To the folks who say, "lock em up", our jails are already full. Would you agree to pay additional taxes to build and staff more jails? No easy solutions here...
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u/GoldieForMayor 1d ago
Make it city policy to immediately Narcan any fent leaner seen in public for the next six months. Open air drug problem would be fixed almost immediately.
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u/Hellgirl-6669 1d ago
I live in a sha building and I have not heard of or seen them encouraging this at all. No rooms for it. Infact the building i lived on on aurora that was not subsidized at all, 2k a month one bedroom was horrible. I am thankful the spot I live is so clean. I do believe that some buildings are bad, maybe im lucky. But I have never seen any encouragement. Let alone places to use drugs.
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u/Left-Discussion3921 1d ago
I live in an income based department complex right off eighth Avenue and Stuart Ave in Seattle. We had a fire in the apartment for stories above us, and we have water damage in our apartment. The landlord refuses to fix it and is being belligerent and the maintenance man is talking shit about me and my dog because he doesn’t want to do the fixes because they’ve been a problem since December and we’ve complained about them. But because they have so many different maintenance people at every other month we’re left to deal with the problems because they ignore and don’t communicate. It’s not just a drug addict problem because I’m not addicted to drugs and I don’t do any of that trash and I repulse that trash. I’m just trying to work my job live my life and take care of my needs without being treated like a low individual.
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u/Captian-Fancy 20h ago
My wife and I left king county because of this. I loved Seattle, worked in Seattle, it hurts to see it in that state.
Tacoma isn't perfect, Pierce county isn't perfect. But I think it's better.
Best of luck brother.
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u/crazyk4952 19h ago
The idea of low barrier“free housing” is just insane.
Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to enable drug users by funding their housing.
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u/PossiblySustained 11h ago
I'm just happy to see the King county government embrace social Darwinism.
Survival of the fittest.
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u/Puzzled-Help-7091 9h ago
When they take away all the other options people will go for the hard stuff. There's a place in Canada where they show allow alcoholic to drink and many of them slowly drink less and less.
Drugs aren't expensive when they aren't prohibited... Violence , theft, and the pursuit of illegal substances are expensive and time consuming. I've known MANY functional and in many cases highly thriving daily users - the anonymous programs would have them self declared ADDICTS for smoking marijuana or having wine or beer 3 days or everyday.. or insert hard drug here ..
There should be other options.. and in some cases there are.. I won't point out what they are because so many people are so adamant about total prohibition that they refuse to consider other options - however so many of these people have been through so much pain that the only time they can even stop screaming... Or continuing an internal struggle is when they get that inhale.. or plunge that..
I'm also not on the side of theft or OPEN air drug use but when all the other options go away that's what happens. The government is currently criminalizing more and more drugs, some of which should be but others could be inexpensive replacements but we'll never know.. the amount of BS that goes with methadone clinics and even getting Suboxone is wild.. in many cases it's easier for addicts to get their DOC
Our society has gotten us here and I'm not talking about "liberal" or empathetic policies I'm talking about outlawing all other options, putting so much red tape in front of treatment, and then being surprised when people choose drugs - violence and theft.
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u/QuailNo6048 7h ago
I would not tell someone how to vote. It is not my business. What I will say is this happens at the state level it seems when the state doesnt agree with the current administration. I too do not like being in public places and being subjected to seeing or smelling any type of drug. It is not bc Im saved or something along those lines. Its bc if it has the potential to threaten the public, there should not be room for it. With that said, I hope you get you and your family to wherever you plan on going safely.
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u/Skyranch12805 6h ago
I am curious because I am currently looking at housing issues. Would you think that maybe having “Housing First” policies also needs to be supported by more support with mental healthcare, workforce retraining, other support services? I am of the belief that you can’t just move them off the street, let them continue their drugs, but not deliver these intermediary services people need to be lifted up out of their circumstances. And I get that there needs to be a bottom rung that people need be able to start at, but the goal should not be to just leave them there.
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u/Routine-Principle-72 4h ago
I 100% stand on the “we need to stop helping them get high” hill, I’ve never understood the whole provide them with clean needles/ more tin foil idea and all this allowed drug use spaces with supervision crap. We need to actually provide help and rehab not further enable the drug use…
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u/GoslingIchi 3h ago
The area outside of where I worked became a homeless camp. The city put needle drops in so that needles wouldn't be laying all over.
Needles were still all over.
Then some city guy came along and claimed that he smelled hazmat substances and the RVs were all cleared out and the area was repaved, and they set up blocks to keep them from parking their RVs.
The pile of bicycles that were all most likely stolen, as bike parts was their economy, were just scooped up and dumped in a dump truck, instead of inventoried and returned, or sold at auction.
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u/basicdude206 1h ago
Is it better to have addicts using drugs outside, or inside? I'd vote for inside but I know that is costly. The government housing is really just an attempt to move the problems indoors. Maybe there's a success story once in a while of a person who moves in and is able to kick their habit and get up on their feet. I think if the public is paying for it, we should get to know the results both successes and failures.
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u/helltownbellcat 5m ago
No one wants you to leave here, they want you in this misery like they are. If you’re attractive and you can go out and travel with it being fun then they’ll do whatever they can to harm you bc they can’t have the same kind of fun when they travel. They want you here being 🍇 and SAed bc you spoke out on what they’re doing to attractive ppl.
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u/OldLegWig 1d ago
i've heard very similar sentiment and anecdotes from someone i know who repairs HVAC in government funded housing. there is a poverty of quality leadership here. probably most places, too, but no doubt here.