This shows that in one year's time over three hundred people became homeless in Thurston County. I hope this starts to show people that homelessness is not a lifestyle choice but a design issue. We need to redesign our system to eliminate the uncertainty a majority of us are living in.

And I agree with Rob's observations about families and really marginalized groups, like young people. They are one side of the very vulnerable underbelly of the homeless population. There is another that concerns me most of all. San Diego studied and reported on it in a very scary study. It is the dual diagnosis people, mental illness and substance abuse together. They are not unreachable but they are very difficult to reach. When these two problems go together, as they often do, the mental illness cannot be treated alone, and neither can the substance abuse. Substances are self medication that blunt both inner and outer stress, and create artificial sedation or stimulation. It's a profound problem. When you put these people in prisons, they will be the first victimized. Yet they have survival needs that they may not be able to meet for themselves.

Shelters generally don't want active alcoholics or addicts. Seattle is exploring some innovative solutions around wet houses. Outreaches like EGYHOP are also invaluble. We need different kinds of resources for this problem. It's just an interjection I like to make. All people are human, and some are more helpless than others.