Angela Poe Russell: Solving the homeless crisis will make us all a little uncomfortable

Before the Supreme Court ruling in June, many West Coast cities faced legal landmines if they forced homeless people off the streets without offering an alternative.

But with the nation’s highest court weighing in, cities have options again.

While I don’t agree with sweeping the issue under the rug and shuffling people around, a city does need flexibility and authority. I still remember when tents took over a park in Ballard near a library for more than a year. A small business that had been there for years was forced to move if it wanted to survive. They were devastated. Our small businesses don’t deserve that.

Good government considers everyone.

More KIRO Newsradio Opinions: Gee & Ursula take on the generational socks war

So now that cities have the power again, what should they do with it? In my view, with authority also comes great responsibility. No city in Washington should be without shelter space and every city worth its salt should be doing all it can to encourage affordable housing. If not, they are part of the problem.

And this is where we come in. To solve this homeless crisis, we’re going to have to meet in the middle. Blocking solutions because they are close to where we live is unacceptable. At the same time, the nonprofits running affordable housing programs need to abide by certain rules.

Most people, in good faith, oppose these programs because of concerns over public safety and what it means for their No. 1 investment. People running these nonprofits need to be sensitive and respect that. And moreover, create agreements that they must uphold to be there.

Personally, I live near a tiny home village and things have been fine. Good neighbors. But another place that recently opened — an affordable housing apartment — has been a nuisance. I recently watched a few residents smoke weed in someone else’s front yard.

More from Angela Poe Russell: Is JD Vance a candidate of contradictions?

That behavior should come with a warning with the risk of being kicked out. If being on the street and facing a civil penalty are possible consequences, then hopefully they’ve learned a lesson.

If a nonprofit running a housing model is allowing people to do drugs and they don’t have the staff to manage it, then perhaps they should live somewhere where they can have a minimal impact on the communities surrounding them.

At the end of the day, the extremes aren’t working. All the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in Washington and the homeless population is increasing. This new legal freedom is a time to do something different, and I have a feeling that progress towards a homeless crisis solution looks like middle ground.

Angela Poe Russell is a local media personality and a fill-in host on KIRO Newsradio.