If you could reduce homelessness with the price of a latte, wouldn’t you? (“Snohomish County proposed 0.1% sales tax for affordable housing,” The Herald, Dec. 1)
We all agree we don’t want people living on our streets and using drugs in our parks. Getting people off the streets and into healthy, affordable homes is a public safety issue.
It’s surprisingly cheaper to provide treatment and a safe home than we currently pay for homeless people to stay homeless in costs for: emergency medical treatment, police time and jail, plus our property being stolen.
Police social workers and community nonprofits are getting people to say yes to treatment and jobs. We’re taking people every day!
When there’s nowhere they can live after treatment, they go homeless, they can’t work, and they relapse. Could you work if you’re sleeping outside?
The tax, 1 cent sales tax on a $10 purchase, will double the amount of affordable housing fast. That’s the missing piece.
The quality of life my neighbors and I get for the cost of a couple coffees a month is a great deal.
Brenda Bolanos-Ivory
Everett
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