Everett mayoral race: Main candidates don’t grasp problem

I attended the Everett mayoral forum the other night, and came to the conclusion that neither candidate represented has a grasp of the reality of the homeless problem in Everett.

This city (and Cassie Franklin in particular) lumps all of the adult homeless into one category, when there are actually four distinct, but sometimes overlapping, groups.

1. Those addicted to drugs.

2. The mentally ill.

3. The ones who simply don’t want to adhere to society’s rules and think they’re living “off the grid.”

4. The actual, down on their luck people who became homeless through no fault of their own.

But since the majority of addicts refuse to go along with long-term treatment, and the ACLU won’t let the government involuntarily commit the mentally ill, and the Davy Crocketts out there refuse to reintegrate with society, it’s that last group that the city should be prioritizing its response to.

There is a thing call “triage.” It’s practiced by doctors when they get a large number of casualties all at once and have to prioritize the allocation of what resources they have. Everett needs to start practicing triage with this homeless population right now, or eventually it won’t be able to help anyone, anywhere.

I will be voting for write-in candidate Gary Watts this election, as it seems he is the only candidate who has the insight and the will to do what needs to be done.

Michael Neeley

Everett