Seattle Homelessness

oftenreading

PJ_Soul said:

oftenreading said:

PJ_Soul said:

tempo_n_groove said:

This all sounds reminiscent of most of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs and San Fran.

Yup, almost exactly, but not quite. Salaries are more in line with housing costs in NYC and San Fran. That's why cost of living statistics are still better in those cities than in Vancouver, so my city wears the very shameful crown for being the least affordable city in North America (and 3rd least affordable city in the world, apparently).

MVGA 

Yeah! I need to buy my hat.

It will be in blue and green, with a complex whale, mountain and weed motif, and it will come with a kombucha smoothie. 

PJ_Soul

oftenreading said:

PJ_Soul said:

oftenreading said:

PJ_Soul said:

tempo_n_groove said:

This all sounds reminiscent of most of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs and San Fran.

Yup, almost exactly, but not quite. Salaries are more in line with housing costs in NYC and San Fran. That's why cost of living statistics are still better in those cities than in Vancouver, so my city wears the very shameful crown for being the least affordable city in North America (and 3rd least affordable city in the world, apparently).

MVGA 

Yeah! I need to buy my hat.

It will be in blue and green, with a complex whale, mountain and weed motif, and it will come with a kombucha smoothie. 

And the city will spend $2.5M to design it, send it through a complex market review and focus group process, change it 4 or 5 times, and then go back to the first idea.

benjs

Meltdown99 said:

PJ_Soul said:

cp3iverson said:

I usually dont chime in but who wouldnt want the value of their home to shoot up? There’s nothing insensitive or selfish with wanting that.  These are your belongings and investments.  I certainly wouldnt want to be upside down or stagnant on the value.  

Did you folks totally ignore my last post about it? As I said, lots and lots of people no longer want that here. It's causing way too many other big huge problems that are bad for everyone, including their own children. Yes, many people actually are not that selfish. Housing cannot work in a market where it is purely being treated as a financial investment. Cities cannot thrive like that. It harms businesses and society, it fucks with the price of everything else, etc. Yes indeed, those who would like to profit from this kind of extreme situation without giving a shit about the dire consequences are just being selfish fucks. That's really sad that some are so comfortable with that. I guess those are the folks who think money is the most important thing in the world, even more important than their children's futures. I'm not talking about a normal housing market - of course where there isn't a literal crisis, appreciation is desirable for any homeowner. But not in the case of an insane bubble like this.

If people who own homes in Vancouver feel home prices are to high, then when they list they are free to sell at a discount...are they not?  People who view their home as an investment and tool to improve their lot in life are not selfish ... thats ridiculous.

This seems to be the unintended but inevitable consequence of a free market. On one hand, we are encouraged to identify a societal need and deliver the product or service to fill that need, optimized for profitability to enrich ourselves (we even coined it so beautifully the "American Dream"). On the other hand, we have recently worked hard to warn of too much enrichment when it carries consequence for the society at large - but this really hadn't been broadcast until the wealth inequality and concentration were too great to be undone.

More shitty design prevalent in society, more beds we must now sleep in (or streets we must now sleep on). At this rate, I think it's safe to expect a lot of building up of rural areas surrounding high-cost urban ones, as we're seeing in Ontario's Greater Toronto Area.

Pap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSr5KuqkTxk

Pap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_93I7TcY02c

Pap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9T-vINFHc8

Pap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oKl_qDJHt4

Pap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CYFUGU84PE

Pap

https://youtu.be/KS4fyIUOuYo

foodshop65

this is a blue state right? government solves all problems. bake sales on every corner?

jeffbr

Here's an interesting piece from KOMO the Seattle ABC affiliate which has now sparked a lot of discussion about the issue. One of the big takeaways is that this is more about a drug epidemic than anything. Fix that and much of the homelessness disappears. But the City Council and Mayor are too interested in moving these poor people from camp to camp to tiny village to under freeways to address the actual issue. Millions and millions have been spent and the problem only worsens.

https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw

And yes, my beautiful city is absolutely dying. It is no longer the place I lived and worked for decades. It is now almost unrecognizable. And the shit show isn't hidden. It is on display in the most touristy areas for all to see because there is no prosecution and the police have given up trying since it has been an exercise in futility. But if anyone is interested in possessing 3g of opiates or pissing on the streets Seattle is your place! The cops won't even bat an eye because of instructions they've received. It's becoming a mini-Purge and in some areas is completely lawless. So while I am definitely liberal, the wackadoodle Seattle City Council and Sharma Sawant and her minions have created an incredible mess of things with policy that clearly does nothing to address root cause. Fuck them and fuck Seattle government in general.

riley540

jeffbr said:

Here's an interesting piece from KOMO the Seattle ABC affiliate which has now sparked a lot of discussion about the issue. One of the big takeaways is that this is more about a drug epidemic than anything. Fix that and much of the homelessness disappears. But the City Council and Mayor are too interested in moving these poor people from camp to camp to tiny village to under freeways to address the actual issue. Millions and millions have been spent and the problem only worsens.

https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw

And yes, my beautiful city is absolutely dying. It is no longer the place I lived and worked for decades. It is now almost unrecognizable. And the shit show isn't hidden. It is on display in the most touristy areas for all to see because there is no prosecution and the police have given up trying since it has been an exercise in futility. But if anyone is interested in possessing 3g of opiates or pissing on the streets Seattle is your place! The cops won't even bat an eye because of instructions they've received. It's becoming a mini-Purge and in some areas is completely lawless. So while I am definitely liberal, the wackadoodle Seattle City Council and Sharma Sawant and her minions have created an incredible mess of things with policy that clearly does nothing to address root cause. Fuck them and fuck Seattle government in general.

I watched this the other day. I lived in Bellingham for a few years, just moved away. This mini doc shows exactly what’s wrong. I got to a point where I quit wanting to go to Seattle. It’s a complete mess there now. Super sad. Such a great city otherwise. 

tempo_n_groove

Eye opening video with the interviews.

if the local govt won't do anything, vote them out.  That lady said the right thing.

Seattle should pass a "intervention" law and start gathering up the people and put them in rehab centers, though the law would never allow it.

jeffbr

riley540 said:

jeffbr said:

Here's an interesting piece from KOMO the Seattle ABC affiliate which has now sparked a lot of discussion about the issue. One of the big takeaways is that this is more about a drug epidemic than anything. Fix that and much of the homelessness disappears. But the City Council and Mayor are too interested in moving these poor people from camp to camp to tiny village to under freeways to address the actual issue. Millions and millions have been spent and the problem only worsens.

https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw

And yes, my beautiful city is absolutely dying. It is no longer the place I lived and worked for decades. It is now almost unrecognizable. And the shit show isn't hidden. It is on display in the most touristy areas for all to see because there is no prosecution and the police have given up trying since it has been an exercise in futility. But if anyone is interested in possessing 3g of opiates or pissing on the streets Seattle is your place! The cops won't even bat an eye because of instructions they've received. It's becoming a mini-Purge and in some areas is completely lawless. So while I am definitely liberal, the wackadoodle Seattle City Council and Sharma Sawant and her minions have created an incredible mess of things with policy that clearly does nothing to address root cause. Fuck them and fuck Seattle government in general.

I watched this the other day. I lived in Bellingham for a few years, just moved away. This mini doc shows exactly what’s wrong. I got to a point where I quit wanting to go to Seattle. It’s a complete mess there now. Super sad. Such a great city otherwise. 

And here is an artifact of what happens when homelessness and drug addiction is rampant and not being addressed properly by the City. Bartell's is a local Seattle drug store chain that is now a large regional chain but started right here in downtown Seattle. And now they won't even consider opening any more stores in downtown Seattle.

Bartell Drugs says it will not open any more stores in downtown Seattle after violent assaults on employees

Lentzsch says many times the criminals are bold and many of them are repeat offenders.

“They will stand in front of our staff with a basket full of products and tell them we know you can’t come after us and walk out the door,” Lentzsch said.

It’s costing the company a lot, but the CEO didn’t sit down with Q13 News to talk about shoplifting.

“We've had too many cases of employees ending up in the hospital or with very serious issues,” Lentzsch said.

Multiple employees have been rushed to the hospital because of violent assaults.

Seattle is a shithole. I'm devastated by what we've allowed our city to become. Time to take it back. My compassion has unfortunately evaporated over the past few months. I no longer feel sorry for these violent drug addicts, and it is time for an intervention. Lock them up in treatment centers/prisons until they are no longer addicted (and I don't give a shit about their civil liberties at this point as they do not give a shit about mine), and then put them into supervised release until they get jobs and housing. But we can't just keep moving them from one camp to another allowing them to shit and piss everywhere, trash neighborhoods, assault law-abiding, tax-paying citizens, chase tourism off, damage property, commit violent crimes and destroy our city and way of life. Enough! Fuck 'em.  

(I can't even believe I'm now talking this way, but I've had my goddamned fill of it)

tempo_n_groove

jeffbr said:

riley540 said:

jeffbr said:

Here's an interesting piece from KOMO the Seattle ABC affiliate which has now sparked a lot of discussion about the issue. One of the big takeaways is that this is more about a drug epidemic than anything. Fix that and much of the homelessness disappears. But the City Council and Mayor are too interested in moving these poor people from camp to camp to tiny village to under freeways to address the actual issue. Millions and millions have been spent and the problem only worsens.

https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw

And yes, my beautiful city is absolutely dying. It is no longer the place I lived and worked for decades. It is now almost unrecognizable. And the shit show isn't hidden. It is on display in the most touristy areas for all to see because there is no prosecution and the police have given up trying since it has been an exercise in futility. But if anyone is interested in possessing 3g of opiates or pissing on the streets Seattle is your place! The cops won't even bat an eye because of instructions they've received. It's becoming a mini-Purge and in some areas is completely lawless. So while I am definitely liberal, the wackadoodle Seattle City Council and Sharma Sawant and her minions have created an incredible mess of things with policy that clearly does nothing to address root cause. Fuck them and fuck Seattle government in general.

I watched this the other day. I lived in Bellingham for a few years, just moved away. This mini doc shows exactly what’s wrong. I got to a point where I quit wanting to go to Seattle. It’s a complete mess there now. Super sad. Such a great city otherwise. 

And here is an artifact of what happens when homelessness and drug addiction is rampant and not being addressed properly by the City. Bartell's is a local Seattle drug store chain that is now a large regional chain but started right here in downtown Seattle. And now they won't even consider opening any more stores in downtown Seattle.

Bartell Drugs says it will not open any more stores in downtown Seattle after violent assaults on employees

Lentzsch says many times the criminals are bold and many of them are repeat offenders.

“They will stand in front of our staff with a basket full of products and tell them we know you can’t come after us and walk out the door,” Lentzsch said.

It’s costing the company a lot, but the CEO didn’t sit down with Q13 News to talk about shoplifting.

“We've had too many cases of employees ending up in the hospital or with very serious issues,” Lentzsch said.

Multiple employees have been rushed to the hospital because of violent assaults.

Seattle is a shithole. I'm devastated by what we've allowed our city to become. Time to take it back. My compassion has unfortunately evaporated over the past few months. I no longer feel sorry for these violent drug addicts, and it is time for an intervention. Lock them up in treatment centers/prisons until they are no longer addicted (and I don't give a shit about their civil liberties at this point as they do not give a shit about mine), and then put them into supervised release until they get jobs and housing. But we can't just keep moving them from one camp to another allowing them to shit and piss everywhere, trash neighborhoods, assault law-abiding, tax-paying citizens, chase tourism off, damage property, commit violent crimes and destroy our city and way of life. Enough! Fuck 'em.  

(I can't even believe I'm now talking this way, but I've had my goddamned fill of it)

"Lock them up in treatment centers/prisons until they are no longer addicted (and I don't give a shit about their civil liberties at this point as they do not give a shit about mine), and then put them into supervised release until they get jobs and housing."

You aren't the only person to think like this that lives there.  My sister feels the same way and she is very liberal and compassionate in thought but just like others and yourself they have had enough.

I was shocked that the city lets things like that go on out there.  When I was living there in 94/96 there were homeless but nothing on this scale.  They hung around the city hall and Capital Hill area.

When I visited in 06 it was pretty much the same.

In 2013 there was a huge change and in 2018 it was unbelievable at the amount of tents and everywhere by the freeways.

Over by the bus terminal the amount of drug addicts and the smell of piss was wild.  NYC is NOTHING like this.

jeffbr

tempo_n_groove said:

jeffbr said:

riley540 said:

jeffbr said:

Here's an interesting piece from KOMO the Seattle ABC affiliate which has now sparked a lot of discussion about the issue. One of the big takeaways is that this is more about a drug epidemic than anything. Fix that and much of the homelessness disappears. But the City Council and Mayor are too interested in moving these poor people from camp to camp to tiny village to under freeways to address the actual issue. Millions and millions have been spent and the problem only worsens.

https://youtu.be/bpAi70WWBlw

And yes, my beautiful city is absolutely dying. It is no longer the place I lived and worked for decades. It is now almost unrecognizable. And the shit show isn't hidden. It is on display in the most touristy areas for all to see because there is no prosecution and the police have given up trying since it has been an exercise in futility. But if anyone is interested in possessing 3g of opiates or pissing on the streets Seattle is your place! The cops won't even bat an eye because of instructions they've received. It's becoming a mini-Purge and in some areas is completely lawless. So while I am definitely liberal, the wackadoodle Seattle City Council and Sharma Sawant and her minions have created an incredible mess of things with policy that clearly does nothing to address root cause. Fuck them and fuck Seattle government in general.

I watched this the other day. I lived in Bellingham for a few years, just moved away. This mini doc shows exactly what’s wrong. I got to a point where I quit wanting to go to Seattle. It’s a complete mess there now. Super sad. Such a great city otherwise. 

And here is an artifact of what happens when homelessness and drug addiction is rampant and not being addressed properly by the City. Bartell's is a local Seattle drug store chain that is now a large regional chain but started right here in downtown Seattle. And now they won't even consider opening any more stores in downtown Seattle.

Bartell Drugs says it will not open any more stores in downtown Seattle after violent assaults on employees

Lentzsch says many times the criminals are bold and many of them are repeat offenders.

“They will stand in front of our staff with a basket full of products and tell them we know you can’t come after us and walk out the door,” Lentzsch said.

It’s costing the company a lot, but the CEO didn’t sit down with Q13 News to talk about shoplifting.

“We've had too many cases of employees ending up in the hospital or with very serious issues,” Lentzsch said.

Multiple employees have been rushed to the hospital because of violent assaults.

Seattle is a shithole. I'm devastated by what we've allowed our city to become. Time to take it back. My compassion has unfortunately evaporated over the past few months. I no longer feel sorry for these violent drug addicts, and it is time for an intervention. Lock them up in treatment centers/prisons until they are no longer addicted (and I don't give a shit about their civil liberties at this point as they do not give a shit about mine), and then put them into supervised release until they get jobs and housing. But we can't just keep moving them from one camp to another allowing them to shit and piss everywhere, trash neighborhoods, assault law-abiding, tax-paying citizens, chase tourism off, damage property, commit violent crimes and destroy our city and way of life. Enough! Fuck 'em.  

(I can't even believe I'm now talking this way, but I've had my goddamned fill of it)

"Lock them up in treatment centers/prisons until they are no longer addicted (and I don't give a shit about their civil liberties at this point as they do not give a shit about mine), and then put them into supervised release until they get jobs and housing."

You aren't the only person to think like this that lives there.  My sister feels the same way and she is very liberal and compassionate in thought but just like others and yourself they have had enough.

I was shocked that the city lets things like that go on out there.  When I was living there in 94/96 there were homeless but nothing on this scale.  They hung around the city hall and Capital Hill area.

When I visited in 06 it was pretty much the same.

In 2013 there was a huge change and in 2018 it was unbelievable at the amount of tents and everywhere by the freeways.

Over by the bus terminal the amount of drug addicts and the smell of piss was wild.  NYC is NOTHING like this.

Yeah, I am mortified reading my own words, but I really have had enough. You nailed it with your impression of visits through the years. The 90's were great! I practically spent every weekend clubbing, I worked downtown, I spent countless hours and days and nights on the streets of the city, and it was an amazing place. Sure, there were some pockets of homelessness, but there was no epidemic. Over the last few years thing have taken a drastic turn and the current Mayor and City Council only enable the bad behavior with their coddling and their "navigation" programs to move them around, but never actually deal with any root causes nor find any actual solutions. And they continue to come back and ask for more money to throw at the problem. Nope. They've had their chance. Time for change in attitudes about the problem. Time for change in policies. Time for a change in leadership. There is simply no excuse. And isn't it crazy that NYC is nothing like this! I've spent some time in NYC and am always impressed with how nice it became. I remember when that city was a disaster and Seattle was a gem. Now its the opposite.

PJ_Soul

Seattle needs to maybe think about how Ghouliani managed to clean up NYC, honestly. Be really tough and stop letting them hold the citizens hostage like that. The cops needs to start rounding up these people and laying charges and throwing them in jail for every minor offense if they have to.

jeffbr

PJ_Soul said:

Seattle needs to maybe think about how Ghouliani managed to clean up NYC, honestly. Be really tough and stop letting them hold the citizens hostage like that. The cops needs to start rounding up these people and laying charges and throwing them in jail for every minor offense if they have to.

Yup, but the cops are handcuffed at this point. They aren't citing anyone for pissing or shitting in the street anymore. And no arrests for 3 grams or under of opiates! That's 30 doses of heroin that you're OK to carry around, which is why the fucking drug dealers don't even have to worry. They just carry 3g or less and no hassle. Heroin free for all. Fuckin' meth heads, crack heads and shooters killing themselves on the streets but at least our cops carry Narcan now, so they can resurrect them and let them try to kill themselves tomorrow. The cops are hesitatant to even make arrests because prosecutors won't prosecute. From that linked documentary, in 2006 25% of cases weren't filed. In 2016 that number jumped to 46%. Then you get a third of the remaining being outright dismissed. Then you get another big chunk just listed as "other" with no resolution. And you end up with 18% resulting in convictions. But after plea deals and lenient sentences, very few are actually held accountable. And there are "homeless" out there with dozens of arrests over a pretty short period of time, so they get arrested, but they're right back at it, laughing at the system that doesn't hold any of them accountable. It is time for change.

PJ_Soul

jeffbr said:

PJ_Soul said:

Seattle needs to maybe think about how Ghouliani managed to clean up NYC, honestly. Be really tough and stop letting them hold the citizens hostage like that. The cops needs to start rounding up these people and laying charges and throwing them in jail for every minor offense if they have to.

Yup, but the cops are handcuffed at this point. They aren't citing anyone for pissing or shitting in the street anymore. And no arrests for 3 grams or under of opiates! That's 30 doses of heroin that you're OK to carry around, which is why the fucking drug dealers don't even have to worry. They just carry 3g or less and no hassle. Heroin free for all. Fuckin' meth heads, crack heads and shooters killing themselves on the streets but at least our cops carry Narcan now, so they can resurrect them and let them try to kill themselves tomorrow. The cops are hesitatant to even make arrests because prosecutors won't prosecute. From that linked documentary, in 2006 25% of cases weren't filed. In 2016 that number jumped to 46%. Then you get a third of the remaining being outright dismissed. Then you get another big chunk just listed as "other" with no resolution. And you end up with 18% resulting in convictions. But after plea deals and lenient sentences, very few are actually held accountable. And there are "homeless" out there with dozens of arrests over a pretty short period of time, so they get arrested, but they're right back at it, laughing at the system that doesn't hold any of them accountable. It is time for change.

I know, the mayor has to take some action, with the support of the state government. It's not like the cops can just decide to do that kind of thing by themselves. I mean... this obviously isn't sustainable the way it is. They have to get hardcore. Someone will be forced to fucking do something about it at some point. Meanwhile... sucks. Although I still had a lovely time in Seattle last time I went, in the fall.

brianlux

I hadn't read this thread in awhile- sorry 1Thought, probably going to want to merge the "Seattle is Dying" thread with this one.

What a bummer!  My wife lived  in Seattle as a kid in the late 50's, early 60's.  I lived a couple hours from Seattle from 1989 to 1993 and still have family up that way.  Yet another place going to hell over the years. 

It's hard to see this happen.  San Francisco and Oakland (most of the Bay Area,really), Seattle, Medford, OR, in Calif: Redding, Stockton, Chico, Modesto, Monterey, Napa, Santa Rosa, Los Angels and L.A. basin  (it was fucked clear back in the early 60's because of the bad air)- in one short life time I've seen all of them go from being wonderful places- many beautiful even- to absolute shit holes.    I wouldn't live in any one of those towns again if you paid me to. 

Jim Morrison said, "The west/ is the best."  Sorry Jimbo, not any more.