Woodward has solutions

I was surprised by the malicious tone of Steve McNutt’s recent letter attacking Nadine Woodward (“Blinders on homelessness,” Aug. 21). In it he attempted to characterize her as dishonest and fraudulent for her portrayal of the homeless crisis facing the city of Spokane. As a result of hearing her speak recently I discovered just how well-informed she is on the problems that the homeless face as well as being prepared with workable solutions to them.

It was clear that she had met with members of other jurisdictions in Washington and neighboring states to discuss ideas that have been working for them to address this crisis. Hopefully she will be in a position to implement those solutions later this year. It is my belief that Steve could have done a better job researching this situation before berating a very principled and informed candidate for mayor

I doubt the reliability of Steve’s statistics that claim only 12% of the homeless in Spokane and 16% nationally suffer from drug abuse. I consulted the website of the National Coalition for the Homeless and found that they report that a high percentage of homeless people in the US struggle with substance abuse. More specifically the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration, estimates that of the homeless, 38% abuse alcohol and 26% abuse other drugs, for a total of 64% of the homeless abusing drugs nationally. These numbers show a significant disparity from the unbelievably low numbers referenced by Steve.

It appears that if anyone is ignoring the complexity of this crisis. it is Mr. McNutt in an effort to support his candidate Ben Stuckart’s misguided approach to a solution.

Al Payne

Spokane