60 Minutes films in Ballard for report on homelessness in Seattle

Meghan Walker Ballard

The national TV program 60 Minutes is working on a piece about homelessness in Seattle, and have been filming in Ballard for the past month for their report.

Last weekend, Anderson Cooper was spotted doing an interview with a man in front of St Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ballard. St. Luke’s Reverend Canon Britt Olson tells My Ballard that the man being interviewed is a regular at the church’s free breakfast program.

Photo by Diane DeHart

St. Luke’s breakfast program — which started three decades ago — now serves on average 180 to 220 people every day. Olson says that for the past month or so, a journalist from 60 Minutes has been interviewing and filming both the man and a couple who lives in one of Seattle’s tent cities.

Now, it seems they’re wrapping up their reporting, which is why correspondent Anderson Cooper was here.

Their last bit of filming, Olson says, will be on Sunday morning at Ballard Library for a Leaves of Remembrance ceremony, in which bronze leaves will be placed into the sidewalk to honor homeless individuals who have died either by living outside or by violence. The ceremony starts at 11:30am, and is open to the public.

We haven’t yet learned when 60 Minutes will air their report, but we’ll let you know when we find out.


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El Grunion
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El Grunion

ooh st lukes is going to love the publicity. hopefully the report accurately depicts their role in ruining the commons area…

hope they interview library staff also.

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

Ruining the commons area? Give me a break. Having some common human decency and compassion by regularly feeding desperate people is a something proud of. I support St. Lukes, and you should as well.

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2 months ago
Boring Opinions
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Boring Opinions

Nope. Nuisance business. They do a lovely thing but they don’t account for the impact of that lovely thing.

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

A church ministering to the homeless isn’t a business. If it was, they’d pay taxes. Agree that they could do more to mitigate the impact of the traffic they draw.

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2 months ago
Lizzy the Lezzy
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Lizzy the Lezzy

While you may be right about Boring’s use of the term “business,” the operative term here is “nuisance.” A church can most certainly be sued as a public nuisance if its activities impinge on the lives and safety of nearby residents. Who would have the steel juevos required to sue the church is the real question. But someday it sure could happen. Maybe Ballard Alliance would do it. Maybe not. It’s an awfully hot PR potato.

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2 months ago
Hillary
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Hillary

It’s great to save drug addicts money from buying food so when they break into our cars and houses, 100% of the profits can go to drugs! You are really helping them. Everyone but an idiot knows it’s drugs and mental health.

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

I don’t think you’ll get much disagreement that drugs and poor mental health are two of the primary causes of homelessness. What’s your solution? Should we completely suspend all social services and let our fellow citizens starve in the streets? Feeding the poor is basic compassion and common decency. How about offering a hand up instead of a kick down?

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2 months ago
Lizzy the Lezzy
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Lizzy the Lezzy

It seems to me the answer is the church feeds them and then they are transported back to services and shelter. They are expressly prohibited from camping in the park or nearby parking strips, cars, RVs, greenways, etc. A system of clean, respectful shelters would exist that these folks could go to…FEMA tents, Nav Centers, what have you. All of it with wraparound services including on-demand addiction and mental health services. LEAD would be involved, as well as Mental Health Court.

You fix St. Luke’s with: Housing. Services. Accountability. Harm reduction for all.

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2 months ago
Bark More Wag Less
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Bark More Wag Less

Well, if they claim it’s a housing problem as opposed to a junkie problem, you know it’s a loading of BS.

I refer Anderson to King County’s own words in its lawsuit against Purdue Pharma:

“the majority of the homeless population [in King County] is addicted to or uses opioids”.

And that’s just heroin, not meth, crack, booze.

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2 months ago
Paintking
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Paintking

Yeah but, a scorched earth policy gets much more attention. Taking down a legal business and pretending it’s somebody else’s issue is typical American BS today. A Dr. handing out a script for pain meds is now compared to heroin and addicts? Give me a break. And besides, has anybody seen CNN”s ratings lately? The freaking Food Network has more viewers than it. Making news IS the new thing for the Chicken Noodle Network.

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2 months ago
Lizzy the Lezzy
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Lizzy the Lezzy

Actually, according to 2018 data readily available through a fact check online (ever done one of those? It seems like an area of opportunity they might point in a performance review. Ever done one of those?) CNN has exactly 2,000 more viewers than Food Network. Sick burn.

CNN 986,000

Food Network 984,000

You had a chance to get it right. Sorry about that.

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2 months ago
elenchos2
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elenchos2

Maybe they’ll report on faux progressives who want to spend $700M extra to build a tunnel while people are living on the streets.

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2 months ago
Hillary
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Hillary

Or the stupid people who want to give more money to the same drug addict that somehow find ways to buy their drugs (crime) but get all the handouts. How dumb do you have to be to feed the same people that steal from you and destroy where you live????

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2 months ago
Paintking
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Paintking

Um, Hillary, they ARE called “compassionate LIBERALS”. Spending others money IS their compassion. This area has zero influence from any other options. There are no “right wingers” running Jack around here, and these highly educated libtards just keep doubling down on what’s failed, and will again. Worse yet, these morons NEVER take ownership of the mess THEY created. Their pride must not taste very good, as swallowing it isn’t an option either. Fact is, these educated folks have been taught WHAT to think, while others, have been taught HOW to think. Huge difference right there.

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2 months ago
Paintking
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Paintking

You conveniently have forgotten about the roughly $100,000.00 per homeless per year the city currently spends, and the BILLIONS already spent on these people. Many choosing to NOT use the many options either. Options where you MUST keep sober/drug free. How many children would THAT feed? So with your logic, we should really be building pigeon nests along the Ballard bridge too. So open minded, everything fell out.

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2 months ago
Andrew Daisuke
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Andrew Daisuke

Which is interesting because the only people that watch 60 Minutes are the same people who are scared of homeless people. This is just pandering to the audience.

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2 months ago
Cap Anson
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Cap Anson

You are a large part of the reason this loser-hobo-junkie-faux homeless problem will never be solved, Mr. Daisuke. You’re pandering to your audience.

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2 months ago
spark
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spark

That’s a bit harsh….there’s clearly a particularly bad homeless problem here compared to the rest of the US, if there wasn’t then a national TV program wouldn’t choose Seattle to make a documentary about it.

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2 months ago
Hillary
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Hillary

It doesn’t have anything to do with the fact they come from far and wide because we treat them like gold here and tons of UW freaks are creaming in their panties to give them everything they can so their social just Prof. gives them an A+. Sad.

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2 months ago
Bark More Wag Less
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Bark More Wag Less

Dude, I spent time in Afghanistan in 2004 and 2006. I’m not scared of sh*t and I also don’t watch network or cable TV.

What I am, though, is tired of having my car broken into, bikes stolen (including one of my kids’ bikes), people breaking into our garage so much we just gave up and put everything in storage. I’m tired of getting emails from my kid’s school explaining why they shut the playground down because some useless junkies dropped needless in the wood chips. I’m tired of my wife (a stranger-rape survivor) having to deal with drugged up, aggressive men yelling and screaming in downtown Ballard and downtown Seattle. One time near her office, a junkie ran up behind her and thought it would be funny to slap her on the back of the head as she walked to work. Cops did nothing.

What I’m especially tired of is sanctimonious morons claiming they are taking the high road when all they’re doing is enabling people to destroy their lives. You are the problem. You are the one lacking compassion because you lack enough spine to do the right thing, rather than what simple makes you feel good.

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2 months ago
El Grunion
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El Grunion

exactly.

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2 months ago
CrazyInBallard
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CrazyInBallard

Wow – sounds like you and your family have been thru a lot. We have been fortunate in not having a problem where we live in Ballard. I used to work in downtown Seattle on 3rd between Pike and Pine and have seen a few things but luckily never had a problem myself (day or night) and don’t know anyone that has. If anyone watched Seattle is Dying (it is available on line) it sounds like New Jersey has a good solution to their drug and homeless problem and with all the money from the sugar tax we should be able to do something like that. You don’t say you were in the service but since you spent time in Afghanistan I’d say you were in one of the armed forces – so THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

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2 months ago
Bark More Wag Less
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Bark More Wag Less

Not in the service, I was a contractor traveling in remote areas. I should have made that clearer. My apologies because I was there by choice and have a great deal of respect for those who serve. But this idea that people are “scared” of the homeless and should move back to the suburbs is the typical line of woke suburban males who think they’ve become “edgy” since moving to city.

And you know what, my wife is scared and refuses to go out in downtown Ballard after dark because of the non-stop sh*tshow and abuse she’s dealt with by random junkies.

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2 months ago
Amphidextrous
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Amphidextrous

It’s Friday night — Third & Pine is in the news again!

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

Wow, that is harsh. I’m sorry for the crime you and your family have had to endure, but no need to attack people who have a different approach to the issue than you do. No one is homeless by choice, you think they like sleeping in the commons and eating at St. Lukes? Most homeless are drug addicted, mentally ill or survivors of horrific violence that often began in childhood. Unless they’re breaking the law (which some are) they deserve your compassion, help and understanding. How about offering a hand up next time, instead of a slap down?

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2 months ago
Bark More Wag Less
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Bark More Wag Less

” no need to attack people who have a different approach to the issue”

You’ll note, he started it. Or you’ll ignore that fact.

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2 months ago
Boring Opinions
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Boring Opinions

Nope.

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2 months ago
Andrew Daisuke
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Andrew Daisuke

lol. Toughen up snowflake!

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2 months ago
Hillary
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Hillary

So so true. These people helping drug addicts destroy themselves by giving free food and tents, etc is just proof how blind and stupid they are.

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2 months ago
Bazinski
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Bazinski

Another day in Seattle, Another article on homelessness. You wanna change, you must do that yourself. The city of Seattle and all the major companies that reside here have done everything under the sun for the homeless. Time for the feeling sorry for to stop. Time to stop enabling the homeless. Time to stop writing endlessly and obsessively on homelessness.. Time for the homeless to make up their mind to do what they can to get out of their situation. Time for profiting on homeless to stop.

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2 months ago
Mike O'Brien is smart
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Mike O'Brien is smart

Hope 60 Minutes exposes the irresponsible and maddening response to the homeless “emergency”. The City enabled this is every which way it could. Mike O’Brien moved them all to Ballard, away from his home in Fremont, to get the gold star from activists. Add to it de-policing and cheap Mexican heroin that you can buy in the white van parked around the Commons and here we are. It’s telling that in doing it’s research, 60 Minutes decided to choose Seattle and specifically Ballard.
See that idiots? We’re not like everyone else. We’re the worst and your City Council member Mike O’Brien did it. Remember 5 years ago when Ballard Commons was safe? Not anymore.

Mike O’Brien = the ultimate NIMBY (Not in my Fremont backyard next to my family and real estate holdings).

Hope they can speak truth to these enablers in power here. It makes no sense at all to enable drug addicted homeless maniacs to continue to be drug addicted maniacs. Activists and voters who supported this should be ashamed.

Call them for what they are – ignorant enablers of the worst drug epidemic in history.

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2 months ago
peckerwood
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peckerwood

I hope Anderson mentions that St. Luke’s does squat to mitigate the effects that it’s clientele have on the area. No cleanups, no ‘beautification’…nothing. They could easily organize it. But they have never done it.

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

Sorry, St. Lukes is too busy serving meals and caring for the desperate people it serves to also clean up the commons. What have you done to help?

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2 months ago
El Grunion
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El Grunion

….pay taxes that fund the mostly useless “services” that hardly any of these campers will accept because it doesn’t fit their idea of what they deserve.

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

Actually paying taxes is the minimum you’re required to do by law. You don’t get credit for that.

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2 months ago
El Grunion
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El Grunion

law? what law? i thought we didn’t enforce all the laws here…there are parking laws too, right? then why has the “president” been parked near the library for like 10 years? ohhhh, riiiight. that’s a mean law.

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2 months ago
Blondhorsecrazy
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Blondhorsecrazy

Wow, you seem to have so much knowledge of what the strung out violent addicts need…why is the issues growing so fast in Ballard, Seattle & now creeping across the mountain to all of our state?. Addiction should never be coddled. Until people start learning more about Addiction & Truth, there will be victims in your own community that you literally are downplaying & putting “the houseless” over everyone else’s safety. I’m appalled to see 2 downvotes on a mans post describing how his family has been victimized. Wake up.

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

I’m appalled that you’ve chosen to ignore the part of my post where I said I was “sorry for the crime that he and his family had to endure” and the part where he said he was “tired of sanctimonious morons”, “you are the problem”. “you are the one lacking compassion” and “you lack enough spine to do the right thing”.

Wake yourself up.

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2 months ago
Paintking
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Paintking

Sorry sport, these are NOT Mary + Jesus walking the streets of Seattle and many left run major American cities. These are however the new chosen people. Chosen as victims to profit off of and make you feel guilty with. We have people making bank off this crap. Obviously you too have been taught what to think, rather than HOW to

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2 months ago
Dr.Clipper
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Dr.Clipper

I have never loved Ballard or ever will set my feet in Washington State period ! Post your opinions all you want but what I understand that community allows and put up with the insane and clueless people that made there life style and the young are buying into it !

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2 months ago
Paintkong
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Paintkong

Yes, the opinions of someone who has never set foot in the state are certainly valuable.

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2 months ago
larry365
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larry365

Homelessness is a problem that is hard to solve because the population is made up of different groups (mentally ill, drug and alcohol abusers, working poor, families, individuals down on their luck, etc.) that each require specialized services to enable them to escape homelessness. There is no one size fits all solution. The societal issues of low wages and high housing costs have continued to make solutions difficult and increased the problem. We must continue to support those contributing specialized services to these different groups in order to reduce homelessness. The issue will not go away on its own.

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2 months ago
Richard Murray
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Richard Murray

Go to any doctor in good standing and they will tell you that there is only one thing worse than a undiagnosed medical illness and that is a misdiagnosed illness. In every case of a misdiagnosed illness the patient always gets far worse because the treatment is actually doing great harm than good. Ballard was once a thriving, safe and prosperous community. That is clearly not the state of the community. Clearly the current course of treatment patient is doing more harm to the community than good. The current treatment plan must be stopped. Most individuals dealing with mental health issues end up self medicating. The drug of choice used to be Alcohol. But alcohol has been supplanted by opioids. The clear remedy for alcohol addiction is detoxification and then treatment of the root causes of the additive behavior or mental illness. The clear remedy for Opioid addiction is the same. The drug has changed, not the people. The current city policies and procedures enable the addiction to continue. That is not an act of compassion, it is an expression of apathy. It is allowing a drowning person to drown. When you stop enabling the addiction most addicts start seeking… Read more »

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2 months ago
Mike O'Brien is smart
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Mike O'Brien is smart

The Progressive competition to be the “Most Progressive” went overboard in their idealogical zeal and completely trampled the humanity in it’s mission by legalizing heroin and encampments (aka drug dens).
Many of the progressives that enable this don’t know what to do now. Everything you said is a fact, but it sounds mean to Progressives and they want to seem sanctimonious without knowing the body count. Ignorant enabling City Council too.

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2 months ago
El Grunion
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El Grunion

so they chose to interview that guy? he looks pretty clean and “normal” fro the photo…did they try to talk to any of the raging drug addled freaks or did that not fit the narrative?

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2 months ago
Paintking
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Paintking

Nobody watches this lame channel. If it weren’t for airports and coffee shops who the F would see the crap they make up and or call news??

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2 months ago
El Grunion
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El Grunion

it would be interesting to hear Britt Olson’s spin on all of this. i have emailed St Lukes a couple of times with polite, civil questions and have never heard back from her.

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2 months ago
wubby
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wubby

What homeless problem? I live in Broadmoor and have never seen a homeless person, once. 60 Minutes delusional. Go to Los Angeles Mr Cooper where they have real issues to deal with. Homeless are a hobby for the Tech Bros in Seattle.

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2 months ago
JDubFromTheHub
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JDubFromTheHub

I know the man from the photograph. His story isn’t what you think it might be. If you care about your neighborhood (rather than just denigrating it anonymously from behind a keyboard), get out there and get to know your neighbors.

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2 months ago