RON AND DON

London, Paris can figure out homelessness, so why not Seattle?

Oct 23, 2018, 2:17 PM | Updated: 2:18 pm

Paris...

Ron in Paris! (Ron Upshaw, KIRO Radio)

(Ron Upshaw, KIRO Radio)

I saw zero tents on the streets in Europe last week. Zero.

I was looking for them. It’s one of the things I do in the back of my mind when I travel. How does the city I’m visiting compare with the city I live in.

RELATED: A trip to Europe taught us one, important lesson about people

I’m assuming that there are homeless people in two of the most prominent cities in the world, but they are not camping in the streets. At least as far as I could tell.

When you walk over Tower Bridge in London, there are no people living under it. When you stroll down the Champs-Elysées in Paris, there are no tiny home villages offering services.

London has a population of a little over 8.1 million people, just slightly smaller than New York City. I counted about a half dozen people sleeping in doorways, some of them were clearly just drunks sleeping it off. I say this because they had no other possessions on them, and appeared to be in “going out” clothes. I saw a few people sleeping in subway tunnels when we were changing trains, but only a few.

Paris is smaller, only 2.2 million people. But that’s still three times bigger than Seattle’s 724,000 residents. I was all over that city for 48 hours by foot, train, boat, and bus. I did not see one tent, and I’m racking my brain to remember if I saw even one person sleeping in a doorway when I was up in the morning searching for fresh coffee and eclairs. Not one tent, and there were plenty of spots that our local homeless would consider prime real estate.

Obviously, my little observational experiment on this trip isn’t scientific. Surely these giant international hubs struggle with many of the same issues that we do.

But neither of these great cities allow for unimpeded camping on the streets. Neither London nor Paris politicians stand by handwringing while people just pop a tent on any sidewalk or in any park. No sooner than I stepped off the Sounder Light Rail at Westlake Center to catch my bus home did I see our homeless problem front and center. It’s hard to miss.

So this is my semi-regular reminder to everyone here in the Pacific Northwest: this is not normal. This is not standard issue. This is not how the rest of the civilized world deals with homeless people. We should not just shrug our shoulders and say, “I guess this is just how it’s going to be.”

We can and should do better. Other big cities do things differently. Other liberal places do it better than we do.

The way we deal with the homeless here is failing. Let’s keep the pressure on local officials to change. Let’s not give up.

This is not normal.

“What Are We Talking About Here” can be heard every weekday at 4:50 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. on the Ron & Don Show on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM.

Ron and Don

...

KIRO Newsradio Newsdesk

Ron and Don’s last show on KIRO Radio

Last night was Ron and Don’s last show on KIRO Radio.

5 years ago

Kelly Herzberg in her natural habitat. (Photo by Rachel Belle)...

Rachel Belle

In Seattle, a personal shopper and stylist who only shops at thrift stores

If you think you can't afford a personal stylist, head to the thrift store with Sweet Kelly Anne Styling's Kelly Herzberg who will pull hundreds of pieces for you to try on.

5 years ago

Viaduct waterfront...

Ron Upshaw

What do we do with the waterfront after the viaduct is gone?

After the viaduct is taken down, we'll be left with a choice: What do we do with one of the most beautiful waterfronts in the country?

5 years ago

(MyNorthwest)...

Ron Upshaw

Shower Thoughts: Ichiro can give Mariners fans something to root for

Rumor has it that Ichiro might make a comeback next year, and I for one welcome it.

5 years ago

Border wall...

Ron Upshaw

Trying to figure out why people want Trump’s border wall

A little over 40 percent of Americans now support the idea of a border wall, but what is it about it that seems so attractive?

5 years ago

Dan McCartney, Pierce County Sheriff...

Don O'Neill

Why you could hear kids’ voices on Pierce County Sheriff radios Monday night

Sometimes, "gone but not forgotten" isn't always how slain officers are remembered. But in Pierce County, a special effort is being made to commemorate a fallen deputy.

5 years ago

London, Paris can figure out homelessness, so why not Seattle?