Washington’s homelessness crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time.
Thousands of people across the state are living outside, many struggling with untreated mental-health conditions, drug addiction, or the impossibility of affording housing in an increasingly expensive market. No one disputes that the current situation is untenable. But House Bill 2489 is not the answer our communities need. Supporters call it compassion, but compassion means helping people off the streets and into stability — not creating new barriers that leave more people living and dying outside.
The bill would sharply restrict how cities can respond to homeless encampments by prohibiting enforcement unless “adequate shelter” is available at that exact moment. While the bill outlines a long list of requirements for what qualifies as adequate shelter, the core issue is simple: the standard is so narrow and so difficult to meet that it will prevent cities from acting at all.
And that is where the real harm begins.
HB 2489 would erode the quality of life in communities across Washington by limiting when encampments can be removed, even when conditions are unsafe. It adds layers of state-mandated procedures before any intervention is permitted, stripping local governments of the ability to act quickly when public health, public safety, or basic human dignity is at stake.
Cities would be forced to stand by as tents multiply in parks, on sidewalks, near schools, and in front of businesses — not because they lack compassion, but because the law would tie their hands. The result will not be fewer people living outside. It will be more deaths, more drugs, and more dangerous encampments, with outreach workers and first responders left to manage the fallout.
This is not compassion. It is paralysis.
From the perspective of organizations like The More We Love, which work daily inside encampments and crisis-response settings, prolonged inaction carries grave consequences. Large, entrenched encampments often become environments where drug trafficking and human trafficking intersect, placing the most vulnerable at extreme risk. Women, youth, and people struggling with addiction are frequently exploited, coerced, or controlled through violence, drugs, and fear. When encampments are allowed to persist without timely intervention or clear pathways indoors, they do not remain static humanitarian spaces; they become increasingly dangerous for the people living there, for outreach workers trying to help, and for the surrounding community.
True compassion requires the ability to intervene before harm becomes entrenched—not after tragedy has already occurred.
Communities across Washington understand that homelessness is a drug crisis, a housing crisis, a behavioral-health crisis, and an affordability crisis all at once. Addressing it requires coordination, investment, and flexibility. HB 2489 undermines that flexibility by imposing a one-size-fits-all mandate on cities with vastly different resources and needs.
And while the bill’s intent is to prevent the criminalization of homelessness, its practical effect is to normalize unsheltered living. People living outside face higher rates of violence, illness, and exploitation. Encampments that cannot be addressed quickly become entrenched, making it harder, not easier, to connect people with services and pathways indoors.
Communities have made progress when they have invested in real solutions: on- demand services, enhanced shelters, addiction and mental health resources, and permanent supportive housing. These approaches work because they offer structure, services, and a path to stability. HB 2489 offers none of that. It focuses on limiting enforcement rather than expanding capacity.
Washington needs a statewide strategy that increases shelter, treatment, and housing — not a statewide restriction that prevents local governments from responding to dangerous or deteriorating conditions. The bill asks cities to do less at the very moment when they need to do more.
Homelessness is solvable, but only if we focus on what actually moves people indoors. HB 2489 may be well-intentioned, but it is not the right approach. Our state deserves policies that build housing, expand services, and create real exits from homelessness. Anything less is just managing the crisis instead of ending it.
Jared Nieuwenhuis is a member of the Bellevue City Council. He was first elected to the council in November 2017.
Kristine Moreland is the Founder and Executive Director of The More We Love, a nonprofit focused on helping individuals experiencing homelessness, addiction, domestic violence, and trafficking.
About this commentary: The opinions expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the entire Bellevue City Council.
