‘Families will hurt from this for years’: Gee wants King County homeless agency dissolved, says damage will last decades

As local leaders aim to dismantle the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) following the mismanagement of $13 million and a $45 million deficit, the push has drawn support from an unlikely voice: former Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, one of the biggest architects of the regional approach.

KIRO hosts Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin discussed what should happen with the agency and whether dissolving it is the right move.

“I mean, it should be dissolved, that’s easy,” Gee said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “That should be dissolved, and should have been done yesterday.”

However, Gee warned the biggest issue isn’t whether the agency should be dissolved, but the lasting damage it will cause families.

“It is easier to change norms than it is beliefs. It’s because beliefs — what happens is, we get stuck on a story that won’t go away. For example, in this case, $13 million nobody can find. It’s just gone. Two hundred contracts, right now, we have people scrambling with families. This whole thing was a disaster,” Gee said. “Yes, shut it down, it’s over. No doubt about it.”

“But here’s the problem in all of this, and this is where I’m so mad at the people who mess things up, because there will be families who will hurt from this for years,” he continued. “Why? Because there will be people who will always have this stuck in their mind when it comes to helping the unhoused out there. They will always remember this story, 10 years from now, 15 years from now.”

Gee warns King County homeless agency’s mismanagement will set back homelessness efforts

Gee said he’s angry because the people in charge of the agency won’t have families affected by their mistakes, but vulnerable families will suffer for years. He said the other part of the issue is that the agency’s failures will make it harder to build public support for future homelessness programs.

“We don’t want to be honest about this conversation. When you think of the unhoused and the homelessness crisis, there are a lot of people who don’t care if they get housed. A lot of people just care if they don’t see it. That’s a big problem,” he said. “Do you know how long it is going to take to really, really do this again? You know how many people are gonna be so negative about this topic. So yes, get rid of it, but I’m so damn angry, because I’m sick and tired of these people not understanding the harm that they are going to bring to people for potentially some generations, because of this.”

‘There’s no more job security’: Ursula says some would rather sit on committees than solve homelessness

Gee and Ursula agreed that people are making money off the homelessness crisis, leaving little incentive to actually solve it. Ursula added that the profiteering shadows the good work others are doing.

“I’m so frustrated because there are people who really do want to actually make an impact, but they can’t because of this kind of garbage that goes on, and then you get all these people who are part of a committee that they’d rather just be part of a committee and take in this money and not actually solve a dang problem, because there’s no more job security,” Ursula said. “Meanwhile, the people who are out there, who really need the help, are not getting the help that they need. Meanwhile, all of us as taxpayers are throwing money to something that is not working.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.