Fix Homelessness | How to rebuild human lives

New Federal Direction Frees Cities to Ditch Housing First, Pursue Real Solutions

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty
November 17, 2025
2
What Works}

SEATTLE, WA — “Federal reforms have finally created space for local leaders to put treatment and recovery back at the center of homelessness policy,” says Discovery Institute President Steve Buri. “Real compassion means helping people reclaim stability and dignity, not leaving them trapped in addiction and illness without a path to restoration.” Following a newly-released reformed funding package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Discovery Institute published an essential policy brief calling on local governments, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and service agencies to leverage these new federal reforms and make treatment and recovery central to local homelessness solutions. The brief outlines how “Housing First” and …

Discovery Releases New Data and Policy Approach for Seattle’s Homelessness Crisis

_{Discovery Institute
November 7, 2024
2
Homelessness}

Download the Report. Discovery Institute Releases New Homelessness Data and Policy Approach for Seattle Seattle, WA- If the growth rate of unsheltered homelessness in King County remains unchanged, the population experiencing unsheltered homelessness will double from nearly 10,000 to a staggering 20,000 in less than three years. A new report from Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness Initiative offers policy recommendations and new data to address the crisis. A study performed by Discovery Institute found that 49.7% of people experiencing homelessness and enrolled in Seattle programs first began experiencing homelessness outside of King County. Data also reveals a dramatic redistribution of funding away from emergency and transitional beds towards permanent …

Michele Steeb Talks Housing First Failure and What Fixes Homelessness on Morning Wire

_{Editor and Michele Steeb
December 1, 2025
1
Homelessness}

Michele Steeb joined a weekend edition of Morning Wire, presented by Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief John Bickley and co-host Georgia Howe, to discuss the recent federal reforms that offer hope for our homelessness crisis. Steeb covers how faith-based programs used to spearhead the fight against homelessness, how the Obama administration changed the federal approach for the worse, and what the Trump administration’s recent reforms mean for the homeless and communities nationwide. Years after President Barack Obama promised to end homelessness, the problem has only surged. In this episode, we sit down with expert @SteebMichele, who wrote the book on how to approach the homeless crisis, and discuss the moves President Trump is making to force progressive… …

“Humanitarian Emergency”: Seattle’s New Mayor Must Bring an End to the City’s Homelessness Crisis

_{Michele Steeb
December 1, 2025
4
Homelessness}

Seattle’s incoming mayor, Katie Wilson, will inherit a homelessness crisis that will define her ability to lead. Seattle’s homeless population needs more than another round of aspirational promises. They need and deserve an operational reset grounded in compassion, accountability, and the courage to confront realities the city has failed to address for years. She must replace press releases and ceremonial groundbreaking for housing that may never materialize with programs that support the homeless in reclaiming their lives from the grip of untreated mental illness, addiction, and dangerous encampments that have taken root throughout the city. The scale of Seattle’s crisis is staggering. HUD’s 2024 Point-in-Time count identified 16,868 people struggling …

“Harm Reduction” Harms

_{Wesley J. Smith
November 12, 2025
5
Homelessness}

The New England Journal of Medicine is again promoting failed progressive public policies. This time, it is “harm reduction.” From “The Erosion of Harm Reduction,” by Joshua Barocas, M.D. (citations omitted): Unlike the targets of many other recent attacks on public health and medicine in the United States, harm reduction is not a formal bureaucracy, but a philosophy and an approach to health care. As defined by the Drug Policy Alliance, it is “a set of ideas and interventions that seek to reduce the harms associated with both drug use and punitive drug policies.” Harm reduction is embodied in syringe-services programs (SSPs), naloxone distribution, overdose education, overdose-prevention centers , and decriminalization of drugs. Barocas …

Report: Radical Leftist Groups Perpetuate Homeless Crisis For Their Own Benefit

_{Matt Kittle
November 5, 2025
9
Homelessness}

A veritable army of nonprofit groups and their lawyers ostensibly representing the homeless made Grants Pass the hill to die on in the pitched battle over homelessness policy. “The scale of this engagement was striking, but so was its character: organizations the public often imagines handing out meals or running shelters were instead investing in a highly technical legal process before the Supreme Court,” a new report from nonprofit tracker Capital Research Center in cooperation with the Discovery Institute states.

Michele Steeb Explains California’s Homelessness Crisis with Amanda Head

_{Editor and Michele Steeb
November 5, 2025
1
Homelessness}

Michele Steeb appeared on Furthermore with Amanda Head on November 4 to discuss California’s failed Housing First strategy and its growing homelessness crisis. Listen to the Episode Here …

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Street Report

from Jonathan Choe

RVs and Tents Lining Seattle Streets Filled with Out-of-Towners

_{Jonathan Choe
December 3, 2025
1
Homelessness}

“Free-attle” Last year, Discovery Institute published a report showing most of the unsheltered homeless in Seattle are not from this city. Nothing has changed. Today in Ballard, I met so many new faces and transplants from out of state who are now living in tents and RV’s. Mayor-elect Katie Wilson has a “Free-atle” problem on her hands. Even outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell acknowledged this inconvenient truth. Enabling Destructive Lifestyles So many free supplies enabling people to live on the streets until they die. The bleeding heart libs need to stop this madness. Read “Think tank survey: Majority of Seattle’s chronically homeless originate elsewhere” at The Center Square Discovery Institute’s …

Rapidly Growing Encampment Sits Unchallenged at Seattle Tourist Hotspot

_{Jonathan Choe
December 2, 2025
1
Homelessness}

Shooting Up Beneath the Space Needle Look at this debacle near the Seattle Space Needle, Gates Foundation, and The Museum of Pop Culture. One of the cities busiest tourist hot spots is under siege by tents and a rapidly growing drug encampment. Outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell’s legacy on this massive street crisis is utter failure. Will Mayor-elect Katie Wilson make the same mistake and allow the city to descend into more chaos? Current scene at the Museum of Pop Culture. That's the Space Needle behind it. This is not 3rd and Pine or 12th and Jackson. MOPOP is a popular tourist destination and event center. This encampment started out as two tents several months ago, and it's been allowed to grow and… pic.twitter.com/bdg6Bgxi5q— Peak Seattle …

Drug Activity Flourishes Around Plymouth Housing Stewart Street Location

_{Jonathan Choe
December 1, 2025
2
Drug Epidemic}

Harm Reduction In Action Plymouth Housing continues to be a blight on the downtown Seattle community. Look at all the drug action in front of the Stewart Street location. This is “Housing First” and “Harm Reduction” in action. Staff give out free drug supplies and no one is required to go into detox or find jobs. So they hang out all day in their apartments and do fentanyl. In some cases, dealers actually live in the units. It’s one stop shopping and a death trap. If any of these so called “permanent supportive” apartments are pitched for your community, fight like heck to keep it out. Unless you like to live next to crime, chaos, and death everyday. 911 calls to these places are also off the charts. You can blame spineless woke …

Open-Air Drug Dens Thrive Underneath Seattle Christmas Lights

_{Jonathan Choe
December 1, 2025
2
Drug Epidemic}

Politicians Look the Other Way Don’t let all the pretty Christmas lights fool you. The drug dens in downtown Seattle are roaring out of control. Look at this one in front of the Olympic Tower Apartments at the corner of 3rd Ave and Pine St. Everyone is doing fentanyl. I bumped into this young Korean American woman who’s been a regular out here for years. She’s probably in her early 30’s but now looks like she’s in her 50’s from all the drug use. This human catastrophe continues unchecked in this city and the politicians are all looking the other way. King County Public Health is also MIA. Anyone ever see Councilmember Bob Kettle walk this nightmare stretch in his district? We now know outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell threw in the towel …

“This Is Worse Than I Have Seen Since 2020” Says Local Advocate of Tents in Seattle

_{Jonathan Choe
December 1, 2025
1
Homelessness}

Drug Addiction Overruns the City Streets Since the weekend, I have now counted more than 100 drug tents in Seattle’s Chinatown-ID and Beacon Hill neighborhoods which are next to each other. This is obviously an undercount since I can’t be everywhere. Drug addicts have also taken over Dr. Jose Rizal Park. Since outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell has given up on the city, I am keeping a running list of encampments for Mayor-elect Katie Wilson. But it’s unclear if she will do anything about it. Btw, stop enabling these addicts by giving them free tents. The non-profits and virtue signaling Seattle residents are keeping vulnerable people on the streets. Get them into shelters, drive them to treatment, or send them home. “This is worse than I have seen …

King County Metro Drivers Feel Unsafe at Their Own Stops

_{Jonathan Choe
December 1, 2025
1
Drug Epidemic}

Drug Addiction Run Wild Some King County Metro bus drivers say they feel unsafe and would prefer to avoid the Little Saigon stop at 12th Ave & Jackson St in Chinatown-ID. Can you blame them? Many of the passengers boarding here are criminal drug addicts and use these buses to transport stolen merchandise. It’s the worst kept secret. It’s lawless in Seattle. NEW: While Seattle cops search for the hookah lounge murder suspect in Chinatown-ID, look what's happening just a couple blocks away from the crime scene. Another 12th Ave & Jackson St. horror show. Aside from the open-air drug use and black market of stolen goods thriving next… https://t.co/6J6O8bljPY pic.twitter.com/dX8oasiWDO— Jonathan Choe (@choeshow) December 2, 2025 …

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Our Mission

Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness initiative offers innovative research and compassionate solutions to the growing crisis of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness facing many American cities. Our mission is to serve as a resource for policy leaders, business owners, and neighborhood organizations trying to meaningfully reduce homelessness and to help those suffering realize their full human potential.

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Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness Initiative pairs journalism with research on homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. Our mission is to help city leaders, service organizations, and business owners meaningfully reduce homelessness and improve lives.

Resources

National Report

“Housing First” — and often only — has demonstrably failed. Congress and the Executive Branch must shift the focus onto untreated mental illness and substance abuse to reduce homelessness, drug overdoses, jail overcrowding, and misuse of emergency rooms. Herein we make policy recommendations to Congress to truly help rebuild human lives.

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Legal Guide

We have created a legal guide for cities to maintain compliance with the Martin v Boise decision. The guide outlines best practices for compliance and provides models for successful ordinances that balance enforcement, housing, and legal requirements. The guide is written by Joseph Tartakovsky, attorney for the City of Boise in the Martin v Boise case.

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Case Studies

We have created case studies of cities that have delivered cost-effective and rapid results on homelessness. We’ll show you how San Diego built an emergency shelter and moved 700 people off the streets, how Burien eliminated camping in public parks, and how Modesto reduced quality-of-life crimes associated with homelessness by 83 percent — all within 60 days.

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