Experimental apartment building in Seattle welcomes homeless alcoholics; project saves money
The Associated Press
Monday, June 18, 2007

SEATTLE: Officials in Seattle are offering homeless drinkers subsidized apartments where they can keep drinking, an experiment the city hopes will cut the the cost of treating them in emergency rooms and other services.

The four-story $11.2 million (€8.4 million) building is one of few such facilities in the United States. Minneapolis has a similar program.

"The average citizen who hears about this project probably is appalled," said Bill Hobson, executive director of the city's Downtown Emergency Services Center, which constructed the apartments.

"Their concern runs something along these lines: 'Why do I want to spend my tax money on people who are not doing anything to help themselves?' The answer to that is: You're already spending it."

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