Solving the problem of homelessness is hard, so some people fall back on something easier: semantics. Perhaps as performative progressivism, they trade the description “the homeless” for “the unhoused,” as if there is a meaningful distinction between the two. Or, even more precious, spin a new term, “illicit economies of need,” to replace a more direct word: crime.
Well, here is another semantic switch to ponder: Should we stop talking about the homeless crisis and start calling it the fentanyl crisis?
Obviously, there is a huge housing problem in Seattle, as well as in other prosperous West Coast cities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Decades ago, there was a fair amount of inadequate but affordable housing on the low end of the market where jobless people, as well as people struggling with addiction or mental health issues, could manage to put a roof over their heads. Most of those cheap apartments and hotel rooms are long gone, demolished as the city’s tech boom created a big demand for new, higher-end housing and drove rents and mortgages into the stratosphere.
That is why Seattle, LA and San Francisco have a homeless problem and less economically robust cities in the heartland do not. But housing shortages and high prices do not explain why deaths among the homeless population reached an all-time high in 2022.
A tragic 310 homeless people died on the streets last year. Of those, more than half — 160 — overdosed on the deadly opioid fentanyl. Eighteen others were homicide victims, and 78 deaths were attributed to a catchall term, “accidents.” What the statistics do not reveal is how many of those homicides were related to drug deals or how many accidents were caused by drug use. My guess is that fentanyl was a significant factor in both categories.
So, if we really care about the fate of these folks, it seems that far more needs to be done to confront the biggest killer on our streets: fentanyl. That will not be easy. It is a massive problem that starts with drug cartels south of the border and runs through street gangs right here in our town. And it is an addiction that cannot be overcome by a voluntary burst of willpower among the drug users who are at the lowest point in their lives.
Yes, we need to stop squabbling about perfect solutions and build more housing of all kinds, but, unless we get smarter and more realistic about the plague of fentanyl and other drugs, a lot of the folks currently on our streets will not live long enough to move into a new home.
See more of David Horsey’s cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey
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