For as long as I can remember, we’ve had a roughly 2:1 ratio of sheltered to unsheltered people in Seattle. As unacceptable status quos go, this one has been surprisingly durable.
It’s temperate here, we’ve told ourselves, and anyone who wants shelter can find it. The people who are left outside aren’t underserved. They’re “noncompliant.” And then there’s “Freattle.” If we got everyone inside, the logic goes, every stumblebum from Puyallup to Portland will beat a path to our door. ...