© Andrew ConstantinoA 'low-barrier' community: two of the tiny houses of Seattle's Licton Springs Village.
The northern wall at the office of the Licton Springs Village on North Seattle's gritty Aurora Avenue features a poster containing a stark notice: "BOTULISM WARNING."
"A suspected WOUND BOTULISM case has been reported in King County. Health officials believe the case may be related injecting [sic] black tar heroin," it reads. "Injecting heroin that contains the bacteria that causes botulism can cause serious infection and even death."
Of course, one might think that the flyer could simply warn that black tar heroin contains...black tar heroin. Heroin is an unusually dangerous drug-wickedly addictive and far more lethal to its abusers than cocaine or alcohol. But Licton Springs Village, a microcommunity of 30 tiny houses and a couple of large dormitory tents-one that is officially sanctioned by the City of Seattle-takes a permissive view of drug abuse. It's a "low-barrier" community, meaning that people can use drugs freely here. Most homeless shelters and encampments demand residents live drug and alcohol free. But here, clean needles are distributed to the residents to prevent the spread of disease, and Narcan is available to resuscitate people who overdose.
Open since April 2017, on a formerly vacant lot squeezed between fast-food joints and low-budget motels, Licton Springs Village is home to nearly 70 homeless people who were "sleeping rough" until they moved in. The residents include several married couples who live together in simple, tiny homes-basically, wooden boxes 12 feet by 8 feet-donated by local groups. Children aren't allowed because of the open drug use. The village is operated by local nonprofit SHARE/WHEEL, and the on-the-ground support staff are all formerly homeless themselves. Conditions are makeshift: There's a shower, but the toilets are all of the port-a-potty variety; there are no individual kitchens, but residents are eligible to eat once each day in the communal dining area.
Licton Springs Village, unique in many ways,
exists to address a common and once again growing problem: American homelessness. The problem is
particularly acute on the West Coast. Here in Seattle, the homeless population skyrocketed by 44 percent between 2015 and the end of 2017, mirroring the experience of other Pacific coast cities, notably those in the Bay Area, which is also experiencing a homelessness crisis of mammoth proportions. King County, home of Seattle, now boasts the third-largest homeless population in the country.
Comment: With the entire world feeling a bit nervous about the New Cold War possibly degenerating into a hot war, propagandists such as those working for Voice of America are not missing any opportunities to up the ante.
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