National Alliance for Recovery & Restoration

Our mission and goals:

Excellent op-ed by Michele Steeb: "The Homeless Industrial Complex has masterminded a system where failure fuels more funding rather than fundamental reform." usatoday.com/story/opinion/2…

You can't solve the human problem of homelessness if you don't understand humans. youtube.com/watch?v=s4H39-EC…

False claims about the success of Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs spread through Congress in 2015 and 2016, leading to widespread adoption of the model and the investment of hundreds of millions of public dollars across more than twenty states. The truth? The program’s underlying research never showed a convincing reduction in crime, did not show people recovering from addiction, and never showed people becoming employed and self-sufficient. Read Eric Zimmerman's incisive two-part analysis of the program at @WAPolicyCenter. washingtonpolicy.org/publica…

Why indeed?

More money, worse results. It's broken.

The right question, @Twolfrecovery.

A new @InstituteCicero report makes a persuasive case for change: taxpayers should finance results, not simply activity. The report examines IRS filings from 1,458 nonprofit providers receiving Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Continuum of Care funding. Between 2013 and 2024, their total revenue increased 123.9%, compared with 34.7% inflation. Over the same period, the national one-night count of people experiencing homelessness rose 30.7%. The report’s analysis documents these concerning figures. dailywire.com/news/why-washi…

I started watching this @IndependentInst documentary with a notepad in hand, intending to write down a few good quotes. There are just too many. So much plainspoken common sense, warmth, and wisdom here. You can't argue with the impossible when it's sitting in front of you — redeemed, alive, filled with hope for the future. Jared Klickstein: "Homelessness is not solved by building physical houses. It's solved by building a home. You know, people need to build a home. And what is a home? It's structure, it's relationships, it's building something yourself that you're proud of. It's setting goals and advancing in life. It's safety. It's protection. It's identity. "What gives my life meaning today is the future. I mean, the future is ever-expanding and it could turn into anything, and just the adventure of it all... if I just apply myself, I just keep growing, and things just keep getting better. And now I'm on the path to becoming a lawyer, and getting married, and starting a family. And that's what I look forward to today. "If I could talk to myself in that bathroom stall in L.A., I'd say, "Hey, I know this sounds insane, but it's gonna be all right. It's actually going to be better than you could ever even imagine." youtube.com/watch?v=QNJNfPhp…

An absolutely beautiful and deserved tribute to Ginny Burton. Cheers, Ginny! Keep on changing lives ... and the world! (vginnyburton.com) From Betty Krenz Working beside Ginny Burton is like…… I’m not entirely sure there’s a diagnosis for it, but there should probably be a support group. If you’ve ever been on the streets hustling for your next fix, you might have some understanding of what it’s like working with Ginny Burton. The urgency, the determination, the relentless pursuit, the ability to find an opportunity where absolutely nobody else sees one. Same hustle. Different addiction. These days we’re chasing funding, opportunities, and second chances. And believe me, the woman knows how to hustle. If you’ve ever been at DFW airport with 15 minutes to get from Gate A23 to D19, only to receive a notification that your flight has been moved to C1, you might understand what it’s like working with Ginny. Except somewhere between terminals, Ginny has decided we should also meet with three legislators, apply for two grants, launch a national initiative, and possibly restructure the criminal justice system. By the time you reach C1, sweating, gasping for air, and reconsidering your entire professional existence, she’s already at E17 wondering why you’re not keeping up. Working with Ginny is like drinking from a fire hydrant while someone screams, “YOU’RE NOT HYDRATED ENOUGH!” It’s like playing chess with someone who keeps inventing new pieces, changing the rules, and somehow still winning. It’s like jumping out of an airplane only to discover that your parachute is actually a grant application and Ginny is yelling, “WE’LL FIGURE IT OUT ON THE WAY DOWN!” The woman is essentially a tornado with a nonprofit designation and a deadline. And let me tell you something about the words “I’ve been thinking…” Those three words should trigger an emergency alert on every electronic device within a 50-mile radius. Because what follows is NEVER a casual thought. It’s a new project, a new partnership, an entirely different direction, or an idea that will require 47 spreadsheets, six Zoom meetings, and a working knowledge of federal legislation. And it probably needs to be finished by Friday. Yesterday’s Friday. But here’s where the humor ends and the life lesson begins. Ginny has an extraordinary ability to recognize potential in people who haven’t quite recognized it in themselves. And then she has the audacity to expect them to live up to it. She doesn’t hand you confidence. She hands you responsibility. She doesn’t tell you that you’re capable. She gives you something you’re not entirely sure you can accomplish and expects you to figure it out. She doesn’t lower the bar to accommodate your comfort zone. She sets the bar on fire, moves it six feet higher, and asks why you’re still standing there looking at it. And somewhere in the middle of the chaos, the deadlines, the occasional urge to throw your laptop across the room, and the constant shifting of gears, something remarkable happens. You become better. You discover skills you didn’t know you possessed. You stop questioning whether you belong in certain rooms. You learn that your past doesn’t disqualify you from doing extraordinary things in your future. And perhaps most importantly, you realize that being challenged isn’t the same thing as being criticized. Sometimes it’s simply someone believing you’re capable of more than you’ve been willing to demand of yourself. Now, don’t misunderstand me. There are days I’d like to put a tracking device on her, confiscate her phone, and institute a mandatory 24-hour waiting period between ideas. But I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Because I’ve spent enough of my life surrounded by people who were content to stay exactly where they were. These days, I’m surrounding myself with people who refuse to accept that where someone has been determines where they’re going. People who aren’t interested in excuses. People who don’t just talk about changing lives. They get up every morning and do the work. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the right people won’t always make your life easier. Sometimes they’ll make you work harder, think bigger, and question every limitation you’ve ever placed on yourself. So here’s to the people who challenge us, exhaust us, inspire us, and occasionally make us consider changing our phone numbers. And here’s to Ginny Burton. A woman who could probably turn a five-minute coffee break into a federally funded pilot program. I just hope somebody remembers to tell me which gate we’re leaving from. Because I guarantee you she’s already changed it. Anybody else have a Ginny in their life? Someone who makes you want to pull your hair out and become a better human being at the exact same time?

Should someone’s race, cultural background, or sexual identity influence who gets help first, or should priority be based on individual vulnerability and need? @kevinvdahlgren asks the people most affected. Multnomah County’s Discriminatory Homeless Housing Scoring System truthonthestreets.substack.c…

THC INC exposes how today’s high-potency marijuana industry engineers potency for profit, markets to a new generation, and what it has cost young people, families, and public health. [Full Documentary] youtube.com/watch?v=uyD02y6D…

Seattle has one of the worst homelessness and drug addiction crises in the nation — but @weheartseattle has common sense policy answers.

Recovery housing uses social supports to help people maintain sobriety and move forward into recovery and self-sufficiency after addiction and homelessness. Stephen Eide describes what it is and how it works, and shows how "states can strengthen the integrity of their current stock of recovery housing programs." (Full report in link.) manhattan.institute/article/…