Will Stone

Daniel Malone runs DESC today, and he worked under Bill back then.

It was up to Bill, the head of DESC, to explain to the irate public radio listeners of Seattle how all of this would work.

It was up to Bill, the head of DESC, to explain to the irate public radio listeners of Seattle how all of this would work.

It was up to Bill, the head of DESC, to explain to the irate public radio listeners of Seattle how all of this would work.

We do. Bill said, sure. For lots of people with alcoholism, abstinence did work. But what he wanted listeners to understand was that this was not the population he was talking about. He was talking about the hardest to serve. The 1811 Eastlake Project was for people who back then were called chronic public inebriates.

We do. Bill said, sure. For lots of people with alcoholism, abstinence did work. But what he wanted listeners to understand was that this was not the population he was talking about. He was talking about the hardest to serve. The 1811 Eastlake Project was for people who back then were called chronic public inebriates.

We do. Bill said, sure. For lots of people with alcoholism, abstinence did work. But what he wanted listeners to understand was that this was not the population he was talking about. He was talking about the hardest to serve. The 1811 Eastlake Project was for people who back then were called chronic public inebriates.

There were more than a thousand of them in Seattle, according to a state estimate. Their health problems were comparable to people in developing countries, and their average age of death was 42 to 52 years old. In the Seattle area, their emergency room visits alone cost $100,000 per person per year. And on average, they had already tried to stop drinking 16 times, and it didn't work.

There were more than a thousand of them in Seattle, according to a state estimate. Their health problems were comparable to people in developing countries, and their average age of death was 42 to 52 years old. In the Seattle area, their emergency room visits alone cost $100,000 per person per year. And on average, they had already tried to stop drinking 16 times, and it didn't work.

There were more than a thousand of them in Seattle, according to a state estimate. Their health problems were comparable to people in developing countries, and their average age of death was 42 to 52 years old. In the Seattle area, their emergency room visits alone cost $100,000 per person per year. And on average, they had already tried to stop drinking 16 times, and it didn't work.

That's right. And that's why this recording from 20 years ago was so eye-opening to me. The proponents of Housing First were always clear-eyed about what their tenants were dealing with. They just have a very different idea of what recovery means for the people they're trying to help. In many cases, recovery for them doesn't mean sobriety.

That's right. And that's why this recording from 20 years ago was so eye-opening to me. The proponents of Housing First were always clear-eyed about what their tenants were dealing with. They just have a very different idea of what recovery means for the people they're trying to help. In many cases, recovery for them doesn't mean sobriety.

That's right. And that's why this recording from 20 years ago was so eye-opening to me. The proponents of Housing First were always clear-eyed about what their tenants were dealing with. They just have a very different idea of what recovery means for the people they're trying to help. In many cases, recovery for them doesn't mean sobriety.

It means a life that is a little more stable, a little more comfortable, a little more dignified. And this is incredibly painful and frustrating for a lot of critics to hear because it goes against a lot of values that we're steeped in as Americans. It's saying that there is a limit to how far grit and self-improvement will get you.

It means a life that is a little more stable, a little more comfortable, a little more dignified. And this is incredibly painful and frustrating for a lot of critics to hear because it goes against a lot of values that we're steeped in as Americans. It's saying that there is a limit to how far grit and self-improvement will get you.

It means a life that is a little more stable, a little more comfortable, a little more dignified. And this is incredibly painful and frustrating for a lot of critics to hear because it goes against a lot of values that we're steeped in as Americans. It's saying that there is a limit to how far grit and self-improvement will get you.

And there are a lot of people who just don't want to believe that.

And there are a lot of people who just don't want to believe that.

And there are a lot of people who just don't want to believe that.

DESC did open the building in 2005, and they moved in 75 of the most disabled people living on the streets of Seattle with alcoholism. And then an academic study came out a few years later.