Well good morning everyone.
Thank you for coming out on this gorgeous day today.
And, it's it's short notice. I know.
Must be,
we're getting into the long weekend, so thank you very much for being here.
First, I want to thank our speakers, Doctor Mercy Waingina, founder
and CEO of Hope and Chance integrated Health, Daniel Malone
of, executive director of the downtown emergency Services Center.
Brandy McNeil and Lisa Dugard, who couldn't be with us today
with Purpose, Dignity Action.
And Steve Woolworth, CEO of Evergreen Treatment Services.
Thank you all for being here.
And I also want to alert you to the fact that we've got other guests,
including Uplift Northwest, Seattle Indian Health Board, the Salvation Army,
we have Seattle Reach, The More We Love,
Battlefield Addiction, Sodo BIA, Ballard Alliance
and the Alliance for Pioneer Square and the City Attorney's office.
City attorney.
Thank you all for standing here with me today.
All right.
You've
heard me say this before, but I'll just say it again for good measure.
The fentanyl crisis and addiction in general is inextricably
linked to our chronic homelessness and our public safety problems.
And you don't have to be in recovery to realize that,
expanding access to evidence based treatment is a is a good way
to help solve both problems, or at least chip away at them for too long.
For too long, we've watched people suffering
from untreated addiction in mental illness deteriorate in our streets.
While our neighborhoods become less safe.
And there's a reason why we're right here.
This area pioneers, you know, Pioneer Square, Occidental Park is
is one of the Ground Zeroes in this city for,
for gun violence, for, and for
the heartbreak that
is associated with addiction.
So, that is why
I put forward my pilot project a couple of years ago.
That enables caseworkers,
to refer people to rehab at Lakeside-Milam Treatment Center.
It's over there in, in Kirkland.
After which Lakeside.
after 28 days of residential detox and treatment, they just build a city.
That's a simple way of getting people the help they need right now.
Because the last thing we want is for Medicaid
recipients to wait weeks to get into one of the exceedingly few spots
because we know what can happen in the meantime.
It's working. Caseworkers with Co-lead,
We HeartSeattle, The More We Love have taken advantage of this resource
because everyone everyone deserves the same chance
at recovery that I had almost five years ago.
People in Medicaid shouldn't have to wait, and the city
shouldn't have to wait for, for better solutions.
What I'm fighting for is simple, and it's to put treatment
at the heart and the center of the city's agenda.
Policy agenda.
We can't keep deferring investments in treatment
while watching the same people cycle through homelessness, overdose,
emergency rooms in jail over and over and over again.
So bringing people together, putting forward
a package of proposed investments isn't just fiscally, responsible.
It's a break from what we've been doing in the past,
deferring constantly, which is a moral failure.
The time is now for a zealous push for a righteous cause,
using an opportunity the legislature gave us by authorizing
local jurisdictions to increase the sales tax by 0.1% for public safety.
And the way that the legislature writes public safety in that bill
does include behavioral health.
While Mayor Harrell has not yet announced implementing
this new funding source, he has indicated interest in doing so
because it will raise over $35 million for public safety, and my resolution
calls for allocating up to 25% of that
to the pathway to recovery.
HB 2015 was sponsored by Representative Inman
and pushed by the Black Caucus, likely because the Black community
is disproportionately impacted
by violence, particularly as violence surrounding the drug trade
and overrepresented in fatal overdose statistics.
No one likes to increase
regressive taxes, but I am I am suggesting to you,
a little bit of the background why it was put forward.
The legislature
carved out this funding source.
Perhaps someone who needs treatment.
Anyway, the legislature carved out this funding source
for public safety, specifically for this kind of intervention.
This is not about raising taxes on working families.
This is about helping working families.
Because there isn't one working family I would suggest that has not been touched
by addiction.
Many of you people standing behind me as well.
When we invest
in getting people off the streets and into treatment, we prevent crime,
reduce emergency room responses, and make every neighborhood safer.
And that is smart public safety.
That is public safety.
So our speakers will talk today about sustaining the investments
we're already making in treatment and bringing new interventions
to fill in the gaps in what has been up to now,
a more limited set of options for people who are struggling with addiction.
Because take it from me, when someone struggling with a substance
use disorder decides to take that step, we have got to give them somewhere to go.
And so that's what I'm trying to do here today.
I will now stop talking and, turn the mic over to Doctor
Mercy one niner, founder and CEO of Hope and Chance Integrated Health.
Health which offers wraparound services for addiction and mental health.
And they're located in Belltown. Thank you.
Good morning.
My name is Doctor Mercy Waingina.
I'm a board certified, psychiatric nurse practitioner.
I specialize in mental health and also substance use disorder.
I’m the CEO and Founder of Hope and Chance Integrated Health,
which is a nonprofit organization that provides wraparound services,
mental health services and also substance
uh, services.
With over 15 years of direct experience
working in correctional facilities, for example, King County Jail, Snohomish
County Jail, Monroe Prison, Purdy Women's Corrections
I've witnessed first hand and heartbreaking
cycle of recidivism
Too often individuals are arrested.
They come to the jail, whereby they get, detox,
they begin sterilization with medications, and then they're released
back to the streets with no housing or follow up care or support.
Many relapse within weeks or months, and then they return into incarceration.
So there's that cycle that keep going over and over and over.
This deeply
broken system inspired me to create a model
that addresses these gaps head on.
Each housing site that we have.
We have five different, housing in Seattle,
five houses in Tacoma, and we provide transportation.
So we are covering all the barriers.
We provide transportation, we provide housing,
we provide, psychiatric,
services like medication management, peer support,
case management,
group
medical services, and also job placement.
So we accept referrals from psychiatric,
hospitals, inpatient facilities,
shelters and community based organizations.
Additionally, our outreach professionals engage directly
with unhoused individuals in the community to connect them with services.
What makes our model unique is our fierce commitment
to remove the most common barriers for recovery,
housing, transportation, and community reintegration.
One of the most impactful partnerships we've had
is with We Heart Seattle, and we are working with Andrea Suarez.
She's the CEO and founder.
She did believe in our mission
and helping our clients rediscover their purpose.
Many of our clients volunteer to help clean up the public spaces,
reclaiming not just the environment, but their own dignity
and help heal the environment they once struggled in.
Our program structure is in three phases,
so once they come into our program, we give them 90 days, which is phase one.
So in phase one, we focus on just giving the treatment, focusing on our clients.
They are with us for 90 days
and it's all individual based before they can transition to phase two.
So once they move to phase two, the transition to phase two,
we started talking about continuing with the treatment.
And also we start talking about job placement.
We are currently working with a few apprenticeships,
so we want to give them the skills while they're still in the program,
still getting the treatment that they need.
So once they get the treatment that they need and they find jobs,
they can go to jobs and still continue getting the treatment.
So we are preparing them for placement into housing,
because putting them into housing without a purpose, without giving them
something to look forward to, it's not going to help them
because they're going to go back to using the drugs,
or they're going to use the same, same drugs in those housing.
So we have to prepare them, and they have up to 90 days
to be able to work,
stay with us, continue getting the help that they need.
And then once they're stable, they're able to save up enough money
to put down for, for housing, and then they're able to transition and,
we have had a lot of success stories.
We have clients that have moved into housing, low income housing.
They are still working.
They still continue seeing our psychiatric nurse practitioners.
We have almost five psychiatric nurse practitioners.
We have medical providers who provide a who provides medical services.
And we check in with these clients even after they move on.
And, all I can say is we are getting good,
progress and we're getting good success
stories.
At Hope and Chance
Integrated Health, we are not just providing treatment,
we are restoring hope, rebuilding lives, and creating
lasting change in our communities, one person at a time.
Thank you.
(applause)
- Next, I'd like to
welcome Daniel Malone, who needs no introduction from downtown.
Yeah.
Emergency services.
Go ahead.
- Thank you very much.
Council President Nelson. Good morning.
I'm with DESC, which is an organization that provides
shelter, emergency housing, permanent supportive housing,
and behavioral health services for people with really complicated and profound
disabling conditions who have also been experiencing long term homelessness.
And in short, we assist people with getting off the streets for good
and giving them a chance
to stabilize and better reconnect with the life of the community.
The things that make the biggest difference for people
with serious mental illness and long time substance use disorder to live
healthier and happier lives include, first and foremost,
a safe and stable place to live, as well as a range of care
and support that's applicable to their individual needs.
For many people who we focus on helping a DESC
that includes tailored behavioral health services,
including case management, psychiatric diagnosis and medication
and treatment for a range of substance use disorder conditions.
We offer a state licensed substance use disorder treatment that includes
outpatient counseling and case management, assistance with accessing inpatient
treatment and use of medications where indicated.
Over the past year, we've had markedly improved
success in assisting people to start
and stay on medications for opioid use disorder.
This success is attributable to bringing care
to people where they're comfortable receiving it,
and to advances in the protocol for administering buprenorphine so that,
it's much more comfortable for people to take.
It's hundreds of people are benefiting from this approach,
and they're staying off of fentanyl use as a result.
But many, many more people need this kind of treatment.
And existing programs are at capacity.
We also see many more people struggling
with their use of other substances, including stimulants like methamphetamine.
And we need to, as a community, devise and implement
a range of better interventions to help people who use
methamphetamine achieve the same kind of success
we're having with people who are using fentanyl and other opioids.
This funding that Council President Nelson is proposing ensures that the city's
approach to the crisis on our streets will include evidence
based and innovative strategies that will produce lasting change,
and I'm grateful to see these proposed investments.
Thank you.
(applause)
- Next I'd like to call it Brandy McNeil of of Purpose
Dignity Action.
- Thank you.
I want to, begin by expressing deep admiration for Council President Nelson.
She has been a consistent and vocal champion of recovery services,
and she has never wavered in her commitment
to making these issues a top priority for our city.
Her leadership is one of the reasons we're able to stand here today and talk
not only about the challenges we face, but also the progress we've made.
Let's be clear any serious public safety system must prioritize
how we respond to individuals with complex behavioral health needs,
especially when those needs are contributing to harm
or distress in neighborhoods and business districts.
Ignoring that reality only prolongs the cycle.
Confronting it head on is how we build safer, healthier communities.
Over the last several years, we've seen measurable progress
through initiatives that take this approach seriously.
Our partnership with SPD on drug
possession and public use diversions required by both
the Possession and Public Use Ordinance adopted in the fall of 2023
and by speedy policy, has been a standout success.
Now, instead of jail or prosecution, individuals contacted by SPD
have access to a warm handoff 24 over seven within 30 minutes to a field
response team that can connect them to services immediately.
We're also in the process of critical data integration with SPD systems,
so that officers can make decisions directly within their information system,
get credit for those those decisions,
and have greater visibility into who's already in the program.
That means officers can directly contact case managers
instead of cycling people through jail or emergency rooms.
That's as council member, council President Nelson said, that's
smart public safety policy and smart public safety policy works.
Other efforts have seen similar success.
The Just Care program, originally focused on encampment resolution,
has evolved into a robust model that informed the state transfer
transportation, right of way encampment resolution program
co-lead continues to show remarkable outcomes.
Over 95% of participants accept services.
More than 70% transition to permanent housing, 100% are enrolled in Medicaid,
and we've had zero co-lead participant overdose.
Overdose deaths in co-lead lodging.
The Third Avenue Project is another example.
Business owners and residents alike.
Pardon me, residents alike, have reported a high level of satisfaction with
We Deliver Care’s rapid street level response, and we've seen successful
shelter and housing placements through lead case management
for chronically unsheltered people with high neighborhood impact.
Because of
these interventions, we're seeing tangible results
declining crime rates, a growing sentiment among residents and businesses.
That disorder is decreasing and reduced overdose deaths.
But I want to be honest, we still have a long way to go.
And what's even more pressing is that all the programs I've mentioned
have suffered major setbacks
due to state and local funding reductions over the last three years.
We cannot afford to let what's working fall apart.
We have to stabilize these programs
and add new pieces to address the gaps that remain.
One such effort was Council President Nelson's idea
to sponsor a low friction pathway for immediate placement
into private pay inpatient treatment programs like Lake Lakeside-Milam.
She understood that low barrier programs like LEAD and Co-LEAD
don't require sobriety at entry, but they do support people
making as much progress as possible on the path to recovery.
Co-LEAD nominated the largest group to use this option so far,
and nearly all of them completed treatment and are still doing well today.
But that
experience also revealed another gap when participants finished treatment.
They shouldn't have to return to housing where active use is prevalent.
Council President
Nelson was absolutely right to push for recovery housing rent subsidies
to help people maintain the progress they've worked so hard to achieve,
and perhaps most fundamentally, none of this works without long
term, high quality case management.
That's the heart of what lead and CO-LEAD provide.
And yet those programs are very much in jeopardy due to millions of dollars
in lost local and state funding over the last two years.
We strongly support the full range of investments
called for in the resolution under discussion today and
and yet those this work
belongs at the center of our city's public safety agenda, not on the margins.
And it must be funded accordingly.
Once again, I want to thank Council President Nelson
for her leadership in advancing this work.
We have proof that these approaches work now.
We must ensure that these efforts
have the funding needed to continue delivering results.
Thank you.
(applause)
- Last but certainly not least, Stephen
Woodworth of Evergreen Treatment Services.
- Good morning.
We had evergreen treatment Services have been providing substance
use disorder treatment in Seattle for 52 years.
We find ourselves, right now in the nonprofit,
community based behavioral health and social service sector
in very challenging and uncertain times.
For those organizations who serve individuals with severe substance
use disorder, especially those living unsheltered,
because it's a struggle for much of our workforce
to actually afford to live in Seattle.
Lending support for a sales tax increase is not something that I take lightly.
However, if this tax to support public safety is adopted, I strongly support
dedicating a portion of the revenue to funding low barrier shelter
services, jail diversion and alternative response,
and the coupling of behavioral health and permanent supportive
housing in addition to needed capital improvement projects,
we continue to find ourselves in a perilous situation
with poisonous drug supply and persistent, preventable drug overdose deaths
that disproportionately affect those living unsheltered.
To date, even if we had tighter system coordination,
I would argue the resources have never been adequate
to address the scale and scope of the problem that we face.
Unfortunately, the irresponsible and draconian Medicaid cuts
that the Senate just passed moments ago by one vote
will further compound the devastation and the consequences
for the most vulnerable here in Western Washington will be severe.
I see the opportunity to invest the sales tax generated
revenue in recovery oriented services as one step we can take
to fund evidence based services at the local level,
in response to the federal government's abandonment of vulnerable and sick people.
As is often said during a times of crisis, every little bit helps.
I want to
acknowledge and
thank Councilmember President Nelson for her leadership and foresight
in recognizing that public health and public safety are inextricably linked.
Healthy communities are safer communities, and given what we're up against,
directing some public safety funding towards pathways to recovery
is the right and responsible thing to do.
(applause)
- Thank you all.
I'll just briefly close us out here by by,
saying out loud what you might be thinking.
This is an eclectic mix of service providers.
They represent different, methodologies, different
philosophies, different approaches to addiction and treatment.
But it takes all of us, really.
We cannot, we can't pick and choose.
I believe when I stumbled into the politics
of treatment and recovery I didn't know about,
you know, harm reduction versus not harm reduction, housing first, etc..
I was just thinking about the fastest way to get people help.
And so that's what that's the spirit that we have to go forward with.
I want to recognize that city attorney and Davison is here today
because in a few weeks, her drug possession,
drug prosecution alternative will start up as the next layer
that we need in the fight for winning, for people winning over addictions.
And, in where they will have more accountability
leading to the doorway to recovery treatment.
I mangled that quote,
but I just want to say that it takes every, every branch of government
to do their job as well.
Policy, the courts and and the executive.
And so what I'm calling for is a critical shift in how we think about,
treatment and recovery in substance use disorder.
And, and I'll come together because it's because, as I've said before,
addiction is expensive for us to deal with the, the impacts.
And I'm not even touching on the sorrow and the heartache and,
and the desperation that people around us in this town feel every day.
The next steps in this, in, in this process is that
I do have a resolution that has been cleared by law
and will be on the introduction and referral calendar next week.
It is a, it's a it's an introduction.
It's a resolution that lists a series of investments.
And if somebody has their paper,
can I read some of them?
Thank you.
This is not a complete list of all the things that I'm calling for, but
because our needs are great,
expanding access to on demand
residential and intensive
outpatient substance use disorder treatment, enhancing access to recovery,
housing and recovery based services within already existing housing.
Permanent supportive housing,
innovative, innovative approaches to addressing stimulant
use disorder and expanding the provision of long lasting buprenorphine injections.
That's what, that's what Daniel Malone was just talking about.
And on and on and on.
It's really long list stabilizing diversion.
And, and our co-lead model,
funding capital investments
in the facilities where people go, for treatment
and also our drop in centers for people that, that are living outside unhoused.
And this is one thing that I haven't mentioned and hasn't come up in
conversation is we need to coordinate with the King County to increase
the number of designated crisis responders, otherwise known as doctors,
that operate within Seattle to facilitate referrals
to secure withdrawal management and stabilization facilities,
such as the one operated by Valley Cites Behavioral Health Care.
And, what we're talking about is involuntary commitment.
We've heard more and more acceptance of,
in recognition of the need for that,
for people who are in danger of harming themselves and others.
The problem is there aren't enough doctors to really,
help us take that next step.
So the list goes on and on.
I'm not going to bore you with, with everything that we need to do.
My point is that we have to start now and focus on treatment
as a public safety response.
So thank you very much for all being here today.
(applause)
I can take a couple questions.
Yeah.
- Your announcement says that this is going to be
a low barrier to the, treatment.
Some of the folks that are gathered here might offer a low barrier to support it.
So how is that legislation will be guaranteed if this is low barrier
rather than treatment that, you know, for example, kicks people out of
the program.
- Most treatment is short
term, that I'm talking about when I'm talking about treatment there.
Obviously, we've got opioid use disorder treatment
that is ongoing for a long time, and then you've got your rehab,
which is simply, you know, you go to a facility at detox,
and then you spend some time trying to get your mind straight.
The point is that, it, it takes everything.
And it's not up to us to define, what people should do.
And what is the right,
path to recovery for them.
What I am trying to do
is I'm trying to add more pavers on that roadway to recovery.
Simply.
- As I've I've studied this topic
more deeply over the past year, Council members,
I was really unaware of the schism
between low barrier and recovery
housing.
I find it hard to believe
the two sides are necessarily going to come together on this.
One of the things I found, most interesting as a study
about this is
addict upon addict I've spoken to has said,
they aren’t asked with getting into recovery
about getting into detox until they proactively ask for it.
Why aren't we proactively
asking people in crisis
immediately and often
to get into treatment?
- That's a very good question.
And first of all, what I would have to say is that, the new HSD contracts for
for outreach for our outreach services do require that the outreach workers do
employ, motivational interviewing, which is a way of centering
the conversation on the client and servicing their
their goals, short term and long term goals and leading
folks to a decision to take care of themselves.
So what I think I would like to tell you is that, yeah, the schisms
that you talk about, I, I truly believe because I wouldn't be standing here with,
all sides of the schism if we all didn't recognize that
it takes all kinds of treatment and all because there is not one cookie cutter,
there's not one path only to recovery.
And it takes, and that is why every single service that, that,
that the organizations represented here provide are important because,
you know, I chose one thing
when I made that decision, but somebody else might choose another.
- Your announcement is up to 25% of the revenue
generated in the people, based on service providers agreement.
You have an idea of the other 75%
would go to?
- Well,
I think that's for the mayor to say.
What I will say is that there is,
there are vastly more services.
The need is tremendously greater than than,
you know, 20%, 5%, 25% of $35 million.
Right? I'm talking about starting.
I'm talking about starting a conversation toward, focusing on the need
for treatment and, and, and shoring up the services
that we already have and filling in the gaps.
- I just wanted to go back to the designated crisis responders.
My understanding is that there is a problem.
- Oh. Oh.
Oh, Gina.
I'm sorry. Can you come up here?
I didn't.
My understanding is because.
Gina with Uplift Northwest. Go ahead.
And where, you know, you can have more people
trying to get people to do voluntary....
Good.
But there's, certainly there's not necessarily anywhere
to put them that is secure.
You know, when you're talking about involuntary treatment, what we focus on.
Because I guess this question sorry, I got.
Distracted by, yeah.
- Focusing on DCR simply because, when I am told
why it's difficult to get people who,
from a professional perspective
should be, in such a facility,
the people that actually make that call are,
very difficult to reach or just simply unavailable for too long.
So that is why, that is why I'm focusing on
and obviously they're designated by King County,
correct?
And so we're not the boss of, of the county, clearly.
But if we were to,
provide some
additional funding for some additional,
FTE, let's say that could serve specifically Seattle residents,
then I think that would go a long way toward breaking through that bottleneck.
Yeah.
- So that point is this sort of reflect
the lack of faith that the King County is going to increase its investment.
In this intensive services?
- So I'm not going to speak for the county.
I do serve on the Board of Health and the,
the governance board of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority.
So I do hear of their budget,
challenges as well.
It's not a lack of faith.
It is simply that we have to do more.
And I think that we can all agree that, that what the county offers,
it offers is insufficient to meet the need we've got right here in Seattle,
let alone the rest of the county.
So that's why we're trying to to pitch in here.
You know, what I want to mention is that we expanded,
the CARE team from seven to, I believe, 27.
Responders.
But where do they send people when they're dealing with somebody in crisis?
If a CARE team member were right here, what would that person,
say or do with the with the gentleman who is who is just passing by.
The same goes for, for outreach.
I want to recognize Andrew Constantino.
He took me on a walk in Little Saigon and, explained the work that he does.
But what does one tell someone if when Andrew's in conversation with them,
if they say, yeah, I really want to stop using where do they go?
And so this is what I'm talking about
is our resources that are, immediately available.
And also meet many other needs.
I funded a an additional, mobile medication unit for evergreen
treatment services because we can't just arrest people
for using drugs downtown, we should be also offering them treatment
right where
Right in the hotspots,
Third Avenue Pike in Pines, Little Saigon.
That's just one, however.
And so I am calling for a,
a pivot, a critical shift in the way we think about the importance
of treatment and centrality in advancing public safety.
And also, public health.
- Would investments in,
earmarking these investment for treatment
take away from the larger, goal around the police
department?
- Well.
I, I recognize that we that hiring
that SPD is hiring at unprecedented rates.
You know, thanks to many of the policies that council put into action.
So we will likely have, a shortfall this year in that department.
I don't, but it is not up to 35 million.
And I'm sure that the mayor has other plans for, for this, resource,
when and if, he puts it forward with the, with the other budget legislation.
But what could be more important?
That's simply the point I'm trying to make.
Okay.
One more question.
Okay. I.
I did,
- We've been getting sober
and sober about a lot of years.
Like, I kind of question to everyone up here
and I, I've always wanted to know the answer to this.
I was an addict.
17 years, 14 years recovery.
I've always heard this word evidence based.
Evidence of what?
Can anyone answer
what the what that evidence means evidence of what?
I mean.
We talk about investing money in evidence based solutions.
Evidence of what?
- I'll answer I will I'm not going to go there.
Does that mean a person buys a home?
Does that mean a sober person
that doesn't use drugs or what does the evidence show?
The what I will simply say is I've never looked at that question the same way, but,
SAMSA defines
recovery basically as getting one's life back together.
And that is the goal that we are that we're after is is helping.
Excuse me, sir.
- But I'm just asking because that's that's.
And no one's ever came and asked anyone from us about that.
- And that's okay.
So this is what this...
How do we get our evidence put forth?
- Okay, I would be let me, let us talk about that later.
But the reason why I also want people to recognize
is that in addition to our, our existing large service
providers, when we're talking about getting people off the street,
there is a whole network of pie of private or philanthropy supported
smaller shops that can also help relieve the,
the shortage of space in our, in our already existing,
transitional and permanent supportive housing.
And I and here's the reason that I wanted to just add one more thing.
I asked the, the directors of two of our business improvement areas
here is because as a small business owner, I hear, I know,
and I hear from small businesses all the time, the, the,
the impacts of the,
the fentanyl crisis on our neighborhood business districts.
And mind you, the game has changed completely with fentanyl.
And so we can't keep doing things in the same old way that we used to.
That is why I'm calling for a critical pivot toward a focus on treatment
that offers a number of different modalities
to help the people that we see struggling on our streets every day.
Thank you, everybody, for coming today.
- Is the mayor supporting your proposal?
The mayor has indicated,
support of the principle of the, of the idea.
And, it will have to wait until we get closer to the,
to budget to figure out what, what the departments
are proposing for some reductions before we get to any hard numbers.
Thank you.
(applause)