Just another day in Rural Western Washington (crimes, to buy)

[mayfair]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Who is bussing homeless people to Sequim or Port Angeles? Certainly not any city in King County - we are full up on homeless folks, bursting at the seams. Doesn't appear to be any city in Thurston County, either, based on what you can see in Olympia. Not sure about Pierce or Snohomish, but it's also doubtful.

From what I've heard locally, it's north into Skagit and Whatcom. That's an easy trip up I-5 by bus. I can't vouch for the absolute truth of it, but I've heard it from local businesspeople.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by mayfair

From what I've heard locally, it's north into Skagit and Whatcom. That's an easy trip up I-5 by bus. I can't vouch for the absolute truth of it, but I've heard it from local businesspeople.

The most homeless and obvious drug addicts I have seen in the PA area were in Port Angeles below 101 between Penn St. and the airport, and beyond, along highway 12 in Joyce, and on/near the reservation in Neah Bay, and Forks. The Seattle homeless tend to expand to the eastside as King County encourages, with low-barrier housing now in Kirkland and Redmond.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

It's possible that more treatment centers might be needed for those who really want help, but more treatment centers are not going to solve any drug problems. Treatment barely and rarely succeeds and that is with persons who really want to quit and get their lives back. It is a huge waste of money to treat people who do not wish to be treated, and by far the majority of drug addicts do not wish to be treated. Their only wish is to have access to more drugs. They do not want to quit. If you force them into rehab, it won't stick because they don't want it to stick. Don't waste the taxpayer's money like that, basically throwing it into the incinerator for no return.

Sure, have treatment available for those who have hit rock bottom and sign in voluntarily because they really want to escape their addiction. But that is a very small percentage of the drug addicts. You accomplish nothing by involuntary enrollment except for wasting time and lots of money.

Success rate with meth users who actually want to quit is only 5%. There is absolutely no way that a user who doesn't want to quit will be "cured" by being forced into treatment,

I think we need to re-think a lot of what we've done before with the vagrant addict. I think we need to commit people who cannot take care of themselves, involuntarily if we need to. The prevalence of seriously addicting and destructive drugs has changed the game. Curing would be a nice goal, but my first priority is public safety, and then safety for the addict.

It is not humane or civilized to allow people to drug themselves into a stupor or live in garbage filled camps, IMHO. Public vagrancy is not OK. I'd offer them commitment, treatment or jail. Their choice. I realize politically, this is a hard sell right now, but what we're doing now isn't working. Eventually, we may have to try something else.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Who is bussing homeless people to Sequim or Port Angeles? Certainly not any city in King County - we are full up on homeless folks, bursting at the seams. Doesn't appear to be any city in Thurston County, either, based on what you can see in Olympia. Not sure about Pierce or Snohomish, but it's also doubtful.

Well, when I was in Social Services years ago, Portland was famous for bussing homeless people wherever they wanted to go, as long as it was away. They'd buy you a ticket to anywhere. There's a lot of cities who do that, in the name of helping people reconnect with family or friends 'back home'. It's the cheapest way to solve a homeless problem, ship it to someone else.

[Transmition]

Originally Posted by mayfair

From what I've heard locally, it's north into Skagit and Whatcom. That's an easy trip up I-5 by bus. I can't vouch for the absolute truth of it, but I've heard it from local businesspeople.

That's just people finding excuses for why their city has the same problems as Seattle even though they have different politics.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Well, when I was in Social Services years ago, Portland was famous for bussing homeless people wherever they wanted to go, as long as it was away. They'd buy you a ticket to anywhere. There's a lot of cities who do that, in the name of helping people reconnect with family or friends 'back home'. It's the cheapest way to solve a homeless problem, ship it to someone else.

It isn't actually wrong. Many people who are homeless are homeless by choice or because they burned too many bridges back home. But in theory they do have homes to go back to. But sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to make that happen.

[Diana Holbrook]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

It isn't actually wrong. Many people who are homeless are homeless by choice or because they burned too many bridges back home. But in theory they do have homes to go back to. But sometimes it takes hitting rock bottom to make that happen.

It's not wrong if there's real family at the other end. (they don't ask and don't really care) It's not wrong if your only responsibility is to your own community. It's a real solution to a community's problem. I get it, I know why they do it. but no one praised the Texas governor when he started doing this with migrants. They weren't and shouldn't have all been his problem either. But no one praises people who drop unwanted animals off out in the country for the good they're doing. It's often not solving a problem, it's moving it from one place to another.

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

With a brother in Sequim and parents on Blue Mountain for many years (now deceased) I have spent a lot of time in your area. When I was there last June I was amazed to see the number of pot shops. There had to be at least a dozen, for 20,000 people. We have none in Sammamish with 65,000 population, and only one in nearby Issaquah with 40,000.

The population of Belfair is 4557 people and we have at least three, maybe more for all I know, pot shops in a two mile radius along Hwy 3.

I know there's a law in Washington about not being able to camp, even on your own property, for more than six months at a time. But as I often say, if you enforced this law in Mason county, half the county would be homeless.

[Thealpinist]

Originally Posted by Transmition

That's just people finding excuses for why their city has the same problems as Seattle even though they have different politics.

The entire country is falling apart.

[CalWorth]

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

Well, when I was in Social Services years ago, Portland was famous for bussing homeless people wherever they wanted to go, as long as it was away. They'd buy you a ticket to anywhere. There's a lot of cities who do that, in the name of helping people reconnect with family or friends 'back home'. It's the cheapest way to solve a homeless problem, ship it to someone else.

Same here, and this was decades ago, in San Diego County, California. There was a rest stop on I-5 in North San Diego County that was well-known as a homeless camp.

But, it's different now. Drug treatment nowdays is a for-profit industry. Homelessness nowdays is a for-profit industry, kind of right up there with the short-term rental industry, dontcha think?