CITIZEN-LED CAMPAIGN
King County, WA

Housing failed.
Addiction wins.
Time for mandatory recovery.

We are a King County citizen campaign to end catch-and-release for theft driven by drug addiction: use Washington's existing secure-treatment law to its fullest today — and win a stronger state mandate for secure stabilization tomorrow.

Be among the first King County residents to sign.
THE REALITY ON OUR STREETS

We tried housing first.
It didn't work.

Billions spent. Homelessness doubled. Overdoses skyrocketed inside "permanent supportive housing." Theft and chaos continue because we refused to treat the addiction driving it.

282%
Increase in overdose deaths
inside King County supportive housing (2020–2023)
Housing alone does not solve addiction. Context matters: countywide overdose deaths roughly tripled in the same fentanyl-era window and have declined since (914 in 2025) — but housing without treatment offered no protection when it counted.
2×
Homelessness has roughly doubled
since King County's 10-year Housing First plan began in 2005
From ~8,000 counted in 2005 to 18,365 in 2026. Counting methods changed in 2022, so the comparison is imperfect — but the direction is not in dispute, and addiction was never addressed as a primary barrier to stability.
METH PSYCHOSIS: A MAJOR DRIVER
Methamphetamine-fueled psychosis is a major factor in repeat property crime, retail theft, car prowls, and public disorder across Seattle and King County. Fentanyl and meth were involved in over 75% of King County felony drug prosecutions (Q1 2026).
Frontline officers, prosecutors, and business owners report the same pattern daily.
"We get them housing, but they keep using, stealing, and cycling back to the streets."
— Common report from King County service providers and law enforcement
The data is clear: When addiction and psychosis go untreated, housing becomes just another place to use and hide from consequences. Recovery must come first.
THE CAMPAIGN PLAN

Use the law we have.
Win the law we need.
Accountability + Compassion.

We are organizing a two-track King County campaign: demand that the county fully use and fund Washington's existing secure-treatment law for theft driven by addiction — and petition the Legislature to expand secure stabilization where the current law stops short.

How it works:

  1. 01 County track — screen and refer every qualifying arrest. Upon arrest for theft/property crime with signs of addiction, King County funds screening and referral to a Designated Crisis Responder (DCR) — the professionals Washington law already empowers. Commitment remains a clinical DCR and court decision, never automatic.
  2. 02 Where clinical criteria under Ricky’s Law (Involuntary Treatment Act) are met — likelihood of harm to others’ property, or grave disability due to substance use — the DCR petitions for secure withdrawal management: up to 120 hours initial detention, extendable to 14 days by court order, with due process throughout.
  3. 03 County track — fund the beds. Washington has just three secure withdrawal facilities and 45 beds statewide — exactly one serving King County (Recovery Place Kent). Even perfect application of existing law collapses without capacity. We demand King County fund enough beds that referrals lead to treatment, not a waitlist back to the street.
  4. 04 State track — expand the mandate. We petition the Washington Legislature to fund secure-stabilization capacity and amend RCW 71.05 to allow offense-triggered evaluation for addiction-driven repeat property crime — our goal: a 10-day secure-stabilization standard, paired with structured re-entry, case management, and funded aftercare.
WHY SECURE STABILIZATION?
• Immediate stabilization
Breaks the acute cycle of psychosis and compulsive use that drives repeated theft.
• The law already allows it
Ricky’s Law permits 120-hour detention + up to 14 days court-ordered secure commitment for substance use disorder when danger to others’ property or grave disability exists.
• What's missing is use — and beds
Ricky’s Law is rarely invoked at the point of a theft arrest — and per the state's July 2025 report there are only 45 secure withdrawal beds in all of Washington, one facility serving King County. That gap is not our weakness; it is the ask.
This is not long-term incarceration. It is a short, structured intervention to save lives and protect the community.
Straight about the law. Ricky’s Law (passed 2016, in effect 2018) allows involuntary secure treatment when substance use causes danger to self, others, or others’ property — but only a Designated Crisis Responder can petition, a court must approve, and the criteria are clinical. An arrest alone can never trigger commitment, and involuntary treatment is state law that no county measure can rewrite. That is exactly why this campaign pairs county demands (use the law, fund the beds) with state advocacy (expand the mandate).
LOCAL DATA & EXPERIENCE

The proof is in King County’s own numbers.

Housing First Outcomes

  • Homelessness roughly doubled since the 2005 10-year plan (~8,000 → 18,365 in the 2026 count; methodology changed in 2022, but the trend is unmistakable).
  • 282% increase in fatal overdoses inside permanent supportive housing (2020–2023) — the fentanyl era hit everywhere, and housing alone offered no protection.
  • HUD moved to shift ~$4B away from pure Housing First in late 2025; a federal court vacated those notices in June 2026 and the policy fight is ongoing.
  • Service-resistant individuals with severe addiction remain on the streets or in housing while continuing criminal activity.
Sources: Seattle Times editorial on supportive-housing overdoses; KCRHA Point-in-Time counts; HUD notices and June 2026 federal court ruling.

Drug Crime Reality

  • Fentanyl and methamphetamine involved in over 75% of King County felony drug prosecutions (Q1 2026, King County Prosecutor).
  • Meth psychosis frequently cited by law enforcement as a driver of erratic, repeat property crime.
  • While overall crime dropped in 2025, property crime and theft remain persistent community concerns tied to untreated addiction.
  • Many individuals cycle through the system because Ricky's Law is rarely invoked at theft-related arrest — and Washington has only 45 secure withdrawal beds statewide, one facility serving King County.
We are not against helping people. We are against the failed policy of enabling addiction while pretending housing alone is the solution. Recovery First means treating the actual driver of the harm.
THIS IS A CITIZEN MOVEMENT

Add your voice.
Force the change.

King County residents deserve safe streets and real help for our neighbors trapped in addiction. Sign the petition to the King County Council and Washington Legislature.

Join your King County neighbors
Add your name to the petition
Your signature adds persuasive weight to our demands to the King County Council and the Washington Legislature. We only use your information to verify and deliver the petition — never sold or shared.

Thank you. Your voice matters.

Your signature is recorded. Organizers will follow up with updates on signature gathering, County Council outreach, and the push in Olympia.

Next step for you: Share this page with 5 friends or neighbors in King County. Every signature brings us closer to filing.
Other ways to help: Email your Councilmember • •
COMMON QUESTIONS

Straight answers.

Our communities cannot wait.

Sign today. Help us move the County Council and the Legislature — and bring real recovery to King County.