Danny Westneat Article

Just to make sure I don't cross any lines with the Seattle Times, here's a link to Danny Westneat's column from June 1, 2008: "Homeless: New Growth Industry." (Hey, they probably need the traffic.)

From Danny's column:

Something is ragged in the Emerald City. We've had our frenzies, like the dot-coms and real estate. Now it feels like there's an anti-boom, an echo of the others.

A week ago Friday wasn't especially cold or windy or any of the other things that drive street people inside. But at Operation Nightwatch, a ministry for the homeless, it was a night for the record books anyway.

Near midnight, after finding spots to sleep for 175 people, workers gave bus tickets and blankets to 42 more. Then sent them wandering off down the street. "Every shelter and tent city was full," says Rick Reynolds, the pastor who runs Operation Nightwatch. "We called them, and they all said, 'Sorry, no more room tonight.' "