Rantz: Thanks to inaction, this Seattle homeless man could be one of many deaths this winter

On a frigid Sunday morning at Freeway Park in Seattle, a homeless man huddled next to a makeshift fire, seeking warmth from the biting cold. By Seattle standards, it wasn’t even that cold on Sunday—certainly not compared to what it will be like as we get closer to Christmas. Yet when you’re living outside, without bare essentials, an unremarkably cold night can be deadly.

The flames, though offering limited and temporary relief, posed a significant danger—not only to him but to the surrounding area. Such fires often spread to the nearby brush. But without it, the homeless man may freeze to death in Seattle. The sad reality is he might very well still end up freezing to death. The odds are not in his favor.

This scene is a stark representation of the conditions faced by Seattle’s homeless population during winter. Yet rather than move them indoors, Seattle, King County, and Washington state Democrats hardly lift a finger to act.

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How bad can the Seattle homeless crisis get this winter?

Over the last few years, King County recorded historically high numbers of homeless deaths—the highest in two decades. At least 5 died due to exposure to cold temperatures during one cold snap in January 2024.

Of course, the dangers extend beyond the cold. The Seattle area has seen a surge in fires spreading from encampments. These fires often result from attempts to stay warm, sometimes due to your standard bonfires, broken down heaters, or fire perilously close to propane containers. This leads to property damage and poses risks to both the homeless and the broader community.

Seattle’s approach to homelessness, often labeled as compassionate, allows the homeless to remain in outdoor encampments with minimal to no intervention. This policy, presented as some noble attempt to respect personal autonomy, exposes vulnerable individuals to life-threatening conditions. The refusal to consistently enforce policies that would move people indoors stems from claims that sweeps are inhumane. One might argue that allowing individuals to suffer and die on the streets is the true inhumanity.

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It doesn’t have to be this way

Every night that someone sleeps outside in freezing temperatures is a potential emergency. Waiting for severe weather events to open additional shelters is a reactive approach that costs lives. Proactive measures, such as consistently available shelter options and policies that require individuals to utilize them, are necessary. It’s a homelessness emergency and Democratic leaders in Seattle should treat it like one.

Under mayor Bruce Harrell, Seattle has made efforts to address homelessness, including the One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan, which reported a 17% drop in verified tent counts citywide in the second quarter of 2024. While there’s undoubtedly been progress, the devil is in the details. Verified tent counts doesn’t mean the tents don’t exist. Many times, when there is a sweep with no effort to mandate treatment for the underlying issues causing the homelessness, the people just go somewhere else. Sometimes, they camp out well out of view where they get even less pressure to move indoors.

Sweeps must be coupled with policies that prioritize the immediate safety of individuals via detox, mental health treatment, and shelter, over a misguided interpretation of compassion.

It doesn’t have to be this way. By implementing and enforcing policies that move individuals into shelters, especially during cold weather, we can prevent unnecessary deaths. This approach requires political will and a reevaluation of what true compassion entails. It’s time to act decisively to protect our most vulnerable citizens from the preventable tragedies of freezing to death on our streets.

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