SMN: Poe Russell raises concerns over city’s homelessness plan as mayor touts 80% drop in tents

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the number of tents in Seattle has been reduced by nearly 80% since 2022, The Seattle Times reported Monday. The media outlet stated in the past two years, the city has removed more than 8,000 tents—going from 1,558 to 215 since the mayor took office.

However, this led KIRO Newsradio contributor Angela Poe Russell to question what the best approach is regarding homelessness, mentioning that fewer tents do not necessarily mean fewer people on the streets.

“A lot of the homeless advocates are saying that this has not reduced the number of homeless people, that it’s just pushed them back into the woods,” she said on “Seattle’s Morning News” Monday. “And I don’t know—on one hand, I think research has shown us that when people are OK, there are some people who fall in hard times, and I think we need to support everybody—then there are those people who there is a drug issue, and until they are made to feel uncomfortable, change doesn’t happen.”

Poe Russell highlighted the complex situation.

“I struggle with, I think we need to help. I think pushing people back deeper into the woods is not the answer. But I also think letting them continue on the sidewalks, in our streets, and our parks is not OK,” she said.

Would making homeless uncomfortable help get them off Seattle streets?

Charlie Harger, co-host of “Seattle’s Morning News,” said the dilemma is something he’s been researching.

“This is a housing first approach,” he explained. “This is a harm reduction approach, and you key into making people feel uncomfortable. That’s one thing that they are attempting not to do when going specifically to help people who are drug addicted and homeless. We’re not talking about somebody who’s in tough times, but people who are in active addiction and strong addiction. Right now, the approach is, “Hey, let’s get you a house, a roof over your head, and we’ll deal with the addiction later.'”

However, Harger mentioned that making people feel uncomfortable could be beneficial.

“I’m hearing from a lot of advocates who say, ‘Listen, we actually need to make people feel a little uncomfortable,’ and maybe that’s when they start getting help, and it’s a long, long-range fix, instead of just having people move into the woods and continue using.”

Listen to the full conversation below:

Listen to “Seattle’s Morning News” with Charlie Harger and Manda Factor weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio. Subscribe to the podcast here.