Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Eviction After Relapse topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee members and providers urge less punitive responses to relapse and call for supports to keep people housed
Summary
During a community roundtable, committee members, providers and people with lived experience warned that quick evictions after substance-use lapses destabilize recovery, urged alternatives (peer respites, interim beds), and called for coordinated supports to reduce long waits and improve equity.
Michelle opened a community roundtable where many members described lived experience and provider observations about relapse, eviction, and service gaps.
Committee member Malika said she has seen expedient evictions after lapses and called for clarity on eligibility and provider practices. "And oftentimes, in a lot of the places that I have witnessed and had experience with people, being housed in, they are asked to leave very quickly," Malika said, adding that such practices disproportionately affect marginalized groups.
Addie Edwell, a SUD treatment provider on the committee, emphasized that housing is not treatment and argued that withdrawing housing as a sanction harms recovery trust. Representative Burnett pushed back that communities need more long-term recovery placements and longer programs (six to 12 months) with mentoring supports. Multiple rural speakers (Alexi Orr, Autumn Nolan) highlighted severe shortages in youth and rural transitional housing and urged less siloed services.
Representative Davis suggested reviving interim beds or SUD peer respites to allow short stays after a lapse while residents stabilize. Susan Pacey, a King County recovery navigator, described success when individuals have multiple outside supports (peers, family, services) to sustain housing. The roundtable ended with agreement to continue the dialogue and to capture comments in meeting notes for follow-up.
