Fix Homelessness | How to rebuild human lives

Addiction Is a Disease — Policy May Finally Catch Up

_{Michele Steeb
March 23, 2026
4
Drug Epidemic}

More than 48 million Americans are battling substance use disorder. Many are deteriorating in plain sight — on sidewalks, in encampments, and in emergency rooms. Others decline behind closed doors. Overdoses are shattering families, especially within the homeless population where the death rate among people living on the streets has surged by 77 percent. Yet in a media landscape quick to amplify controversy but slow to recognize consequential reform, President Donald Trump’s executive order to overhaul America’s addiction response passed with remarkably little national attention. It shouldn’t have. At its core, the order affirms a truth long understood by those who have worked on the front lines: no man or woman living with addiction ever dreamed of …

New Federal Direction Frees Cities to Ditch Housing First, Pursue Real Solutions

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty
November 17, 2025
2
What Works}

SEATTLE, WA — “Federal reforms have finally created space for local leaders to put treatment and recovery back at the center of homelessness policy,” says Discovery Institute President Steve Buri. “Real compassion means helping people reclaim stability and dignity, not leaving them trapped in addiction and illness without a path to restoration.” Following a newly-released reformed funding package from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Discovery Institute published an essential policy brief calling on local governments, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and service agencies to leverage these new federal reforms and make treatment and recovery central to local homelessness solutions. The brief outlines how “Housing First” and …

Kevin Dahlgren and Jonathan Choe Talk Cash-for-Ballots Scheme on Newsmax

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty, Kevin Dahlgren and Jonathan Choe
March 27, 2026
1
Crime, Law, and Order}

Kevin Dahlgren and Jonathan Choe recently appeared on Newsmax’s Finnerty, hosted by Rob Finnerty, to discuss their joint investigation with Frontlines TPUSA and other independent journalists into a cash-for-ballots scheme in Skid Row. Dahlgren and Choe explain how ballot initiative workers are paying the homeless to fraudulently sign petitions in Los Angeles’ notoriously drug-infested and crime-ridden Skid Row. Dahlgren called the scheme “irresponsible, exploitative, cruel, illegal.” "This is literally third world." @kevinvdahlgren and @choeshow are making the rounds, exposing the exploitative and illegal behavior of ballot initiative workers in Skid Row. WATCH ⤵️@NEWSMAX @RobFinnertyUSA pic.twitter.com/gRFjRZL3W6— Center on Wealth & …

House Bill 2266: Stupid Greed or False Philanthropy?

_{Marsha Michaelis
March 5, 2026
4
Homelessness}

Every legislative session in Washington state, a few infamous bills absorb all the time and attention that ordinary citizens can reasonably devote to restraining their government — while still minding the important business of their own lives. This year, it’s a “millionaires’ tax” (also known as an unconstitutional state income tax), and a “modernization” of law enforcement that would ensure county-elected sheriffs serve at the behest of an unelected state board. Rightfully, the people are fiercely fighting these bad ideas. Meanwhile, about 350 other bills are quietly passing into law, many of them just as bad. Most of us won’t even know about these laws until we cut ourselves on their sharp edges while minding the important business …

Housing Doesn’t Solve Homelessness

_{Marvin Olasky
March 3, 2026
6
Homelessness}

California Governor Gavin Newsom regularly repeats his mantra: “Shelter solves sleep; housing solves homelessness.” Hmm. From 2022 to 2025, I wrote weekly columns about homelessness and gained insight by living for three weeks in shelters. Based on that I can say: In general, it is not true that housing solves homelessness. Maybe it solves homelessness for people who are not addicts, alcoholics, mentally ill, or victims of abusive childhoods, but most homeless people are in one or more of those four categories. Maybe housing solves homelessness if the rest of us don’t like to see homeless people: Get them out of sight and they can be out of mind. Invisibility benefits those who have homes. Unseen homeless folks don’t ask us for money, so we are free from …

HB 2266: Call Your Legislator Today

_{Center on Wealth & Poverty and Marsha Michaelis
March 2, 2026
2
Homelessness}

Update 3/5: The State Senate passed HB 2266, with amendments. The bill will now go back to the House to be reconsidered. A vote is expected the week of 3/9. Please call your local Representative today! Update 3/9: The House passed HB 2266. The bill will go to the Governor’s desk for signature. More than 20,000 people are living on the streets in Washington state, most of them suffering from an untreated mental illness and/or drug addiction. HB 2266 is currently moving through the Washington State legislature to make it easier to develop subsidized housing and emergency shelters in the style of the failed Housing First policy. This bill would override local ordinances and zoning laws, put residents in real danger of increased crime and lawlessness, and leave the homeless …

Seattle Reporter Jonathan Choe Accuses Katie Wilson of Masking Homelessness Failures to Prepare for World Cup

_{Jasneet Gill
February 27, 2026
3
Homelessness}

The following article was originally published at Seattle Red 770 AM by author Jasneet Gill, covering one of Senior Fellow Jonathan Choe’s recent appearances on The Jason Rantz Show. Investigative reporter Jonathan Choe is raising concerns over Seattle’s homelessness crisis, claiming that Mayor Katie Wilson’s new approach is failing to deliver real results. Despite the Mayor’s recent public boasts about her progress, Choe argues that the city is actually stuck in a cycle of failed policies that are only making things worse as the 2026 World Cup approaches. Claims of success vs. reality During her State of the City address, Mayor Wilson took a “victory lap,” bragging about her ability to move people from the streets into housing. …

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Street Report

from Jonathan Choe

Skid Row’s Cash-for-Ballots Scheme

_{Jonathan Choe and Kevin Dahlgren
March 26, 2026
4
Homelessness}

Discovery Institute has joined up with Frontlines Turning Point USA, O’Keefe Media Group, and other independent journalists in a multi-part investigation into a cash-for-ballots scheme in Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Jonathan Choe and Kevin Dahlgren help expose the exploitation of the homeless, the theft of the identities of innocent Americans, and the violation of state law in some of America’s most crime-ridden streets. Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles is one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America, a human dumping ground infested with crime, open-air drug use, and unimaginable suffering on virtually every block. “This is hell on Earth,” I commented at one point. This chaos is also what allows alleged fraudsters to blend in and prey on the …

Tiny Home Village Director Dodges Question About Smoking Shacks on Premises

_{Jonathan Choe
March 25, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Exposed We Heart Seattle just exposed fentanyl smoking shacks inside taxpayer funded Low Income Housing Institute’s tiny house villages. But I was chasing this tip as well. Recently, I point-blank asked LIHI Executive Director Sharon Lee about these controversial “safe consumption” sites on her properties. Instead of giving me a yes or no answer, listen to what she had to say. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. Funding requires low barrier (drugs allowed), and “harm reduction” practices like this dedicated volunteer built tiny home to smoke illegal and lethal Fentanyl. Do the voters know they are paying for this and to be installed in their… pic.twitter.com/nPuMPS72Wm— We Heart Seattle (@weheartseattle) March 24, 2026 …

Elderly Homeless Man Hit by Car, Killed

_{Jonathan Choe
March 19, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Developing An elderly homeless man is dead after being hit by a car near the Fred Meyer in Bellevue. It happened late Thursday evening along 148th Ave NE in a busy shopping corridor. Unclear if the rain and slick conditions played a role in what appears to be an accident. The driver stopped and is at the scene talking to cops. This is a developing story. …

Citizens Step Up to Stop Shoplifting in Bellevue

_{Jonathan Choe
March 17, 2026
1
Crime, Law, and Order}

They’re Back! The Bellevue community watch is back! Monday evening, these brave volunteers stopped two homeless drug addicts from ransacking the QFC grocery store in the Crossroads neighborhood. Witnesses say a WHITE male and female with a dog tried to take off with packs of ground beef. No cops showed. Stopping the Black Market of Stolen Goods The community watch fellas suspect this duo passed through the Plymouth Housing/PorchLight homeless campus and were headed to Seattle in order to sell the stolen goods in Chinatown-ID. …

Graffiti, Squalor, and Destruction: What Housing First Actually Looks Like

_{Kevin Dahlgren
March 17, 2026
1
Homelessness}

“Egg God’s” Apartment Breaking. We gained exclusive access to ‘Egg God’s’ apartment in Los Angeles with @choeshow and we interviewed him. He has a video that went insane, viral for destroying his subsidized apartment and then mocking his eviction notice. System Struggles to Respond The reality: Under Los Angeles’ strict tenant protection laws, what he’s implying is largely true. Evicting him won’t be easy, no matter how extreme the behavior. This is the flaw in the Housing First model. People are often placed into housing with no expectations on the front end and very few real consequences on the back end. When things go wrong, the system struggles to respond. Housing First Fails the Vulnerable Jonathan and I actually thought he …

Seattle Homeless Encampment Goes Up in Flames

_{Jonathan Choe
March 17, 2026
1
Homelessness}

Another Day in Seattle Another drug encampment fire along Seattle’s Aurora Ave N. Neighbors reported several tents in this area before flames erupted Tuesday afternoon. Look at all the taxpayer dollars being wasted on this hot mess. Just another routine day in the city. …

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Our Mission

Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness initiative offers innovative research and compassionate solutions to the growing crisis of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness facing many American cities. Our mission is to serve as a resource for policy leaders, business owners, and neighborhood organizations trying to meaningfully reduce homelessness and to help those suffering realize their full human potential.

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Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness Initiative pairs journalism with research on homelessness, addiction, and mental illness. Our mission is to help city leaders, service organizations, and business owners meaningfully reduce homelessness and improve lives.

Resources

National Report

“Housing First” — and often only — has demonstrably failed. Congress and the Executive Branch must shift the focus onto untreated mental illness and substance abuse to reduce homelessness, drug overdoses, jail overcrowding, and misuse of emergency rooms. Herein we make policy recommendations to Congress to truly help rebuild human lives.

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Legal Guide

We have created a legal guide for cities to maintain compliance with the Martin v Boise decision. The guide outlines best practices for compliance and provides models for successful ordinances that balance enforcement, housing, and legal requirements. The guide is written by Joseph Tartakovsky, attorney for the City of Boise in the Martin v Boise case.

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Case Studies

We have created case studies of cities that have delivered cost-effective and rapid results on homelessness. We’ll show you how San Diego built an emergency shelter and moved 700 people off the streets, how Burien eliminated camping in public parks, and how Modesto reduced quality-of-life crimes associated with homelessness by 83 percent — all within 60 days.

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