Housing Won’t Fix This. It’s the Drugs.

The housing-first narrative is crumbling. Not from skeptics or political opponents, but from the people actually doing street-level outreach every single day.

T Wolf, a San Francisco recovery advocate who was formerly homeless himself, just dropped a truth bomb:

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Up to half of all people we see on the streets using drugs in San Francisco have housing. They just lack purpose and carry crippling addictions with them. That's the plain truth. It's the drugs. https://t.co/2wPbbMN9pf

T Wolf 🌁 @Twolfrecovery January 16, 2026

This isn’t a hot take from someone watching from the sidelines. This is someone who’s been there, done that, and now helps others get clean for a living.

And it’s not just San Francisco. In Seattle, We Heart Seattle—a grassroots organization that does direct outreach to homeless encampments—is seeing the exact same thing. They called out Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson after she announced a “Shelter & Housing Accelerator” executive order:

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But people have shelter and housing @MayorofSeattle 👇🏼 Eno is not a one off but actually represents 50% or more of the people we see in tents, parks, sidewalks, and shared spaces loitering and using lethal drugs publicly. @Twolfrecovery others please vouch. Eno identified as homeless during our conversation yet later said “well actually I have an apartment”. And with @DESCSeattle but proclaimed his community and real home is still on the streets and in our parks after ten years!! This video puts on full display that shelter and housing doesn’t end crime, open air use of drugs or nuisance loitering. [Quoting @MayorofSeattle]: Excited to announce 2 executive orders today. My Shelter & Housing Accelerator order will speed efforts to rapidly bring people inside. And my Transit Accelerator order will finally implement a bus lane and more on Denny Way. More info at https://t.co/ym2uvnOXRS #thisisyourcity

We Heart Seattle @weheartseattle January 16, 2026

The individual in their video, Eno, initially identified as homeless. But then admitted he actually has an apartment through DESC, a Seattle nonprofit. Ten years in the system. Has housing. But still says his “community and real home is still on the streets.”

This is what low-barrier permanent supportive housing produces. People get apartments funded by taxpayers, but continue living outside, using drugs publicly, because there’s no requirement to actually get clean. No structure. No purpose. Just a place to crash when the streets get old.

The politicians keep announcing more housing accelerators, more shelter beds, more “bringing people inside.” And the people actually working with the homeless keep telling them: these folks already have housing. The problem is fentanyl. The problem is meth. The problem is a system that enables addiction instead of treating it.

How many more billions do we need to spend on housing before we admit the obvious? Housing without recovery is just warehousing addiction. It doesn’t end crime. It doesn’t end open-air drug use. It doesn’t give people purpose.

The plain truth, from people who see it every day: it’s the drugs.

Follow @garrytan for more.