Washington pays for homelessness, and pays and pays and pays
The State of Washington spent $5 billion on homelessness prevention programs over the last 12 years, but there has been little measurable impact so far. There are currently more homeless people in Washington than at any point since at least 2016.Yet according to the state's biannual Snapshot of Homelessness reports, there are currently more people in need of housing than ever. Washington had 126,091 homeless people in January 2016, but 158,791 people in January 2025 — a 26% increase.
Washington's total population has only grown by 9% since 2016, meaning homelessness is outpacing population growth despite an unprecedented amount of spending designed to prevent that trend.
Washington will spend $1.8 billion on homeless services and housing in 2026 and 2027, or $900 million per year.
Read more about it...
Google says--Washington state is reliably considered a "blue state." It has consistently voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1988. This trend is primarily driven by its strong support for Democrats in urban areas like King County (Seattle), which contains nearly a third of the state's voters.
"Homelessness is prevalent in "blue" (Democrat-leaning) states, particularly coastal ones, due to high housing costs, greater availability of social services, and more lenient policies regarding public space and drug use compared to "red" (Republican-leaning) states."
1 comment:
And this is an issue our Town of Lake Worth needs to be aware of -- just spending money on housing and minimum wage social workers to "treat" the homeless can't be expected to cure drug addiction or alcoholism, these being root cause issues beyond the skill sets of 99% of all social workers. If Lake Worth is to desire a real solution, it will need to make a bona fide effort to cure drug addiction and alcohol addiction. We would need real Psychologists with major proven skillsets to teach the coping mechanisms these people always needed ---and we would need alternative behaviors taught for stress --- One innovative and remarkable treatment protocol is the use of R1,3 by Ketoneaid.com This is a non-ethyl alcohol alternative to beer, wine or booze, and it is non-toxic to the liver, and it DOES provide a mild buzz if you drink enough of it--but the mild buzz builds to sharp and comfortable focus, as the R1,3 alcohol converts in your liver to Ketones, and this effectively makes your brain sharper, and adds a neuro-protective effect that also reduces the irritability and stress feeling common to so many alcoholics and drug addicts. it is not habit forming, and it does get alcoholics off of booze and helps to move them to better behaviors. Combined with the right psychologist, this could change the homeless problem dramatically. I don't see Psychiatrists, because I dont believe that drug use they would utilize is a solution....Of course this is part of a much bigger discussion. This is something a bunch of us should discuss in person, and with our commissioners, and try for some test cases. Maybe there is someone here that cares--if so, I'd hope to have people saying they will chat with me about this!
Post a Comment