When I first heard that Seattle was thinking of expanding our emergency shelter to King County Jail, I thought this was the worst idea ever. When The Seattle Times called for a quote, I was unequivocal.
“Symbolism matters,” I said. “Just the optics of housing homeless people in a jail are horrible.” Since then, I’ve reconsidered.
With homeless people dying in record numbers, and winter breathing chill and rain down their necks, we can’t afford to dismiss any option. ...