Thirty years ago, housing activists began an unusual experiment to help people struggling with homelessness and chronic addiction. They decided to get people into housing first and then try to help their clients with their addictions. This idea, called "Housing First," is now the central strategy guiding homeless services in America. But the concept is facing new scrutiny and growing criticism from conservative lawmakers. Today on The Sunday Story, we look at the controversy around Housing First and consider if the strategy is working as it was designed. You can listen to Will James's full documentary on KUOW's Soundside podcast. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy
I'm Aisha Roscoe,
and this is a Sunday story from up first where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story.
Not long ago,
reporter Will James walked into an apartment building in Seattle and met a tenant named Kenny Taylor.
Oh, thanks so much.
Oh, this is home.
Yeah, this is great.
This building.
The Union Hotel is the first in Seattle to operate under a philosophy called Housing first,
and Kenny was one of the original tenants who moved in 30 years ago.
He came here straight off the streets.
I was homeless for about five years before I moved in here.
I slept in doorways, I slept on the street, I slept in tents.
I slept at the missions and stuff like that.
It's not fun.
Being homeless is not fun at all.
When Kenny moved into his apartment in the 1990s, Housing first was an experiment,
and nobody knew how it was going to turn out.
But now, 30 years later, housing first,
the central strategy the federal government uses to combat homelessness.