Dave Reichert: Here’s how we find a way forward on homelessness

After more than four decades in public service, I’ve seen my share of complex problems. I’ve worked cases of violence, addiction, broken families, and people who had lost everything. But the homelessness crisis we see today in Seattle and King County weighs heavier on my heart than almost anything else I’ve witnessed, except for the years I spent as lead investigator on the Green River Killer case, where I walked alongside families shattered by the loss of their daughters. Back then, I witnessed the devastating consequences of society’s failure to protect its most vulnerable. Today, I see that same weight in the eyes of our neighbors living on the streets, lives at risk, dignity stripped away, and families torn apart.

On a single night in 2024, nearly 17,000 of your neighbors had no home in King County. That’s a 26 percent increase in just two years. Almost 10,000 of your neighbors slept outside, in tents, under bridges, or on our sidewalks. That number keeps rising.

When I walk through our city, I don’t see tents and trash. I see sons and daughters. I see mothers clutching children. I see men and women who, for one reason or another, have slipped into a place where life feels helpless, hopeless, and homeless.

Every person has value, dignity, and purpose. Our job, as a community, is not to give up on them. But it’s also not to look the other way while they destroy themselves.

Housing First without a plan

For too long, the primary response has been “housing first,” which means getting people indoors and hoping the rest works itself out. But four walls alone don’t rebuild a life. A roof doesn’t cure addiction. An apartment key without love won’t unlock a hopeless heart.

We need a better way.

That starts with an open door. If someone is battling fentanyl, we shouldn’t demand sobriety before offering a bed. If a woman is escaping abuse with her kids, she shouldn’t be turned away by paperwork. People need a safe place to come in, just as they are.

But then comes the next step: a path forward. Shelter cannot be the final destination. It must be the first rung on the ladder. That means treatment for addiction, counseling for trauma, job training, and transitional housing. It means not just giving people a bed, but walking beside them with structure, encouragement, and clear expectations.

And that’s the part we’ve been missing, walking with them. Too often, we’ve either given up or just handed over housing without a plan. Recovery is not a straight road. People stumble. They relapse. They lose hope. And it is precisely in those moments they need someone steady; a mentor, a peer, a community, that says, “I won’t leave you behind. Get back up. Let’s try again.”

We must hold people accountable

Finally, we must not be afraid to talk about accountability. That word has become unpopular, but it is essential. Accountability is not punishment; it is a matter of dignity. It’s the belief that people can rise. I’ve seen men and women whom everyone else wrote off as lost come back stronger when someone challenged them to take responsibility for their own lives.

There is hope. I’ve seen it. Across our state, there are people and organizations quietly doing the work, combining care with accountability, and lives are being restored. People once trapped in despair are now sober, reunited with family, employed, and giving back. It can be done.

But now is the time to act. We are at a tipping point. For the first time in decades, there is widespread recognition that housing alone has failed. Lives have been lost. Communities are waking up to the reality that recovery, not resignation, must be the standard. Through strong leadership, bold collaboration, and strong public and private partnerships, we will save lives. If we lean into recovery-centered solutions, we can move from managing homelessness to ending homelessness. This means more help, more hope, and yes, more love.

From hopelessness to hope

If we are to solve homelessness, we must replace helplessness with help, hopelessness with hope, and homelessness with actual homes, homes built not just on shelter, but on healing, accountability, and renewed purpose.

That is the America I believe in. That is the Washington I love. And that is the future we must fight for together. A future filled with hope!

Dave Reichert served seven terms as a U.S. representative from Washington state’s 8th Congressional District (2005 – 2019). He spent 33 years with the King County Sheriff’s Office, eight as the sheriff, the first elected in 30 years. In the 1990s, Reichert received national attention as the lead detective on the Green River Task Force.

Dave Reichert is a former Washington congressman and King County Sheriff.