Submitted by Bruce Dammeier, Executive.
“Solving” chronic homelessness is hard and defies easy answers – that is why we need to be smart and invest in proven solutions that get results.
When I discuss chronic homelessness, I am referring to the people who are trapped living on our streets in squalor, many with untreated mental illness and addiction. Most have been on the streets for years, some committing crime and most being victimized by crime. It is inhumane and unacceptable for anyone.
During my time as Executive, I have worked closely with our Human Services team to address homelessness, broadly and chronic homelessness, specifically. We need compassionate and effective programs that help folks get off the street, get well, and get back in control of their lives.
As you might imagine, we need a variety of programs to help get people back to a dignified life. We need emergency shelters to get them safely off the streets – generally limited to 90 days. But we also need places where they can live long-term with the support they need to restore their health and their lives. For years our system in Pierce County has struggled because we face a significant shortage of longer-term supported housing options. The result – people are frequently stuck on the streets or in short-term shelters without a place to take their recovery to the next level – and in many cases they end up back on the street.
Certainly, shelter comes first – and over the years our Human Services team has made significant investments in expanding both the number and type of shelter beds across the County. Whenever someone is willing to go to the safety of a shelter, we want to make sure we have a bed available. Collectively, the County and our partner jurisdictions fund more than 1000 shelter beds. Last year, on average, 73% of our available shelter beds were used – and we also have another 200 beds being added by 2025. So, I am confident that we will have a safe place for anyone willing to come indoors.
But for the last few years, we have focused on expanding long-term supported housing – projects like our Good Neighbor Village with the Tacoma Rescue Mission. The Village is a place where people who were chronically homeless can fully recover with the support they need. We have been growing both the number and type of housing options but are still far short of the need.
While this year’s Housing and Homelessness Program (HHP) funded outreach, shelter, transitional housing, rapid re-housing and long-term (permanent supportive) housing, our Human Services team prioritized the last two program areas. This approach is consistent with our 2022 Comprehensive Plan to End Homelessness as these interventions – rapid re-housing and permanent supportive housing – offer permanent solutions to homelessness.
Which brings us to a current disagreement with some on the Council. Last year, the Council allocated $2.5M for a “stability site” in unincorporated Pierce County. Our Human Services team worked hard to find a way to deliver on this but was confronted with siting challenges and County Code restrictions.
The Council majority has been trying to rush through changes to the County Code to allow for a stability site. While I share their commitment to finding solutions to homelessness that are transparent and sound, emergency rules do not allow for that. Housing ordinances should go through the full normal legislative process – encouraging plenty of public input. Rushing code changes under an expedited process that limits public notice is bad policy and undermines community confidence.
I am also concerned that using one-time investments of federal pandemic funds to increase temporary shelter is the wrong approach. We have a finite amount of funding to address homelessness, and funding more shelter leaves fewer funds for housing projects, where we can realize permanent resolution to homelessness. Our community struggles to move individuals out of shelter because of our lack of deeply affordable housing. If we want to see permanent change, we need more affordable housing and more supportive services. My related concern is sustainability — there is already a shortage of operating funds for our county’s shelter system, so adding more shelter capacity puts a strain on the financial security of our existing shelters.
In light of these concerns, my supplemental budget proposal reallocates that $2.5M to help fund a 500-unit affordable housing project developed by the Tacoma Housing Authority and Mercy Housing (breaking ground later this fall) and additional existing services for our homeless population.
As I said, this work doesn’t have easy answers. I want to close by acknowledging the efforts of Heather Moss, John Barbee, and the entire Homelessness Team at our Human Services Department. They are the true subject matter experts that turn policy direction and budget allocations into a cohesive system-wide response. They are addressing one of our most complex issues with informed, thoughtful, compassionate, and effective solutions, and I am grateful.
Thanks for reading.
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Thank you and your team for good work on this important issue. 👏👏👏👏
I’m glad to hear that you’re teaming with Mercy Housing to build affordable housing in our community. Mercy Housing has done good work on creating affordable housing in many cities around the country.
Here’s the reality of how successful all these Pierce County programs have been: a 23% increase from the 2023 survey, which found 2,148 people experiencing sheltered and un-sheltered homelessness.
“….untreated mental illness and addiction….”
“…1000 shelter beds. Last year, on average, 73% of our available shelter beds were used…”
The major problem with homelessness is not what’s over their head but rather what’s in their head. Many on the streets prefer that kind of life style: it’s often a choice. Only about 1/3rd of Pierce County’s homeless population are using the available shelter beds. Until these two issues are dealt with, perhaps involuntarily, putting the homeless in a “homeless village” only transfers the problem from the open air setting into a government “project” with predictable consequences. Indeed the homeless are often a danger to themselves and others. Permitting this kind of behavior is inhuman.
I spoke against the proposed Pierce County 1/10th% sales tax increase in 2020 and City of Lakewood’s attempt to maximize State 1406 funding for “mental health”. At the 2020 Pierce County hearing there were over 50 people in attendance nearly all of whom supported the proposed tax increase and nearly all of whom represented agencies that would benefit from the tax windfall. Follow the money.
On 7 December 2020, the Pierce County Council passed Ordinance 2020-138s, creating an additional sales and use tax for behavioral health and therapeutic courts. Consistent with RCW 82.14.460, revenue for this tax may be used to fund mental health, substance use disorder, and therapeutic court treatment programs and services.
How effective has the County’s Behavioral Health Improvement Plan (BHIP) been? It hasn’t. A fragmented approach diffused across many service providers is not going to solve the problem. It’s going to take a mandatory program with an economy of scale to solve homelessness or we will have a repeat of the 23% increase in homelessness year to year. Hiding the homeless in government housing is not a solution. Solve the mental health and addiction problem and the housing problem will take care of itself.
Dear Executive. Your essay uses the word “addiction” only one time, by my count. And yet you use “beds” and other politically correct euphemisms countless times. If illegal drug use laws were enforced, the situation might be different, don’t you think? All the housing in the world will only move the drug usage indoors. Then the housing gets destroyed, then the chronically predisposed go back on the streets and the housing serves as a symbol of failure. recidivism! Stop with the “Head in the sand approach,” drugs are destroying the moral fabric of America. Lots of people seem to want it that way. Shame!