I teamed up with a writing coach to better express my views about our elected leaders' failed approach to addiction:
What We’re Really Doing When We Call It “Harm Reduction”
In cities across the country, we’ve been told that “harm reduction” is the compassionate, enlightened way to address addiction. Don’t stigmatize. Don’t judge. Just keep people alive—clean needles, supervised use, no expectations. It sounds humane. But after years of this approach, many of us are looking around and asking: Is this really helping anyone?
The answer is becoming harder to ignore: no, it’s not. And worse—it’s quietly making things worse for both addicts and the public.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a fentanyl addict is not “choosing” freely. Addiction of this kind is not a lifestyle or a preference—it’s a form of psychological and physical captivity. And yet, the architects of harm reduction treat these individuals as if they were exercising autonomy, making rational choices we should honor and accommodate. That’s not respect. It’s moral evasion.
Let’s be clear: this is not a call for cruelty or criminalization. It’s a call for moral seriousness.
The entire policy framework has been built on a corrupted use of language. “Autonomy” is really incapacity. “Compassion” is moral indifference. “Judgment,” as in knowing right from wrong, is taboo. Suffering is treated like an identity, and to say otherwise is seen as backward or harsh.
But the results speak for themselves. Cities that embraced this model are now seeing entire neighborhoods gutted by open drug use, crime, and disorder. Ordinary citizens—taxpayers, voters, families—are told to tolerate it all in the name of empathy, while their own quality of life declines.
This isn’t just a policy failure. It’s a failure of civic will.
We’ve allowed a professional class of policymakers, activists, and nonprofit leaders to pursue an ideology that’s insulated from its consequences. They preach non-intervention while the rest of us deal with the fallout—overdose deaths, public safety concerns, eroded trust in institutions, and an atmosphere of quiet despair.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can recover our moral vocabulary without reverting to punitive policies. We can say: This is wrong. This is tragic. This must change. That’s not judgmental—that’s what care looks like when you believe people are capable of better lives. And when you care about the people and businesses who are harmed by enabled addiction.
A functioning democracy cannot exist without moral boundaries and public standards. And it cannot last if the people paying for it—through their taxes, their patience, and their daily compromises—are told their concerns don’t matter.
It's time to stop pretending we’re doing anyone a favor by giving up.
You're stories are heartbreaking...💔 I wish the city would take an honest look at what works and what doesn't. Constantly enabling them where they are instead of insisting if they want goods & services they need to agree to help. Too bad the city won't listen to people like you and Tara or someone like Sharon Meieran. 😰
Why did you steal from the city of Gresham? You pretend to help people, but not really. All I see is you exploiting people for content. Are you incapable of getting a real job that doesn’t exploit the most vulnerable?
Eli, why so much hate for someone who clearly cares about these people? Do you even know the intricacies of his case? If you don't like him just stop following. Do something constructive with your life.
So sad we enable this cruelty in Portland. I recognize the location of that video…right near Delta Park…it's a dystopian scene rivaling that of Old Town. Been that way for years now. Keith Wilson has only has 9 months left to fulfill his promise of eliminating the inhumanity of street camping in Portland….I haven't noticed any change since he took office. Have you Kevin?
thank you for this. so often the pain that families of addicts endure is invisible. it ruins their lives and suspends their growth. are addicts responsible for anything?
Hi there, I'm an ex addict, very new on substack, trying to pay forward for all those that helped me. Thank you for the work you are doing, it is inspiring. Love never fails 🌾
Do you ever cover the folks that, for one reason or another, get stuck out there on the streets but are otherwise functional "normal" people that then have to contend with all that stuff, along with the difficulties of getting back out of that kind of jam?
I am one who in 3 years on the street never encountered meth or heroin/fentanyl. I like weed. Did K-2 while in shelter with drug screening. Camped alone on a wooded bluff after wearing out the welcome mat. Housed 14 years, now I am encountering the homeless addicts plaguing our small property, defecating ,stealing,sleeping and shooting up in our doorway and behind the building is a secluded area...the wave I came through with had a share of drunks and crackheads...but I did not see this.
We live in a city where law abiding citizens with a conscience kept silent, trusting in the efforts of elected officials and the “social contract”. It’s past time for us to speak the truth that we see on a daily basis: allowing people to harm themselves and others through drug use isn’t compassion, nor does it respect an individual’s humanity.
Beautiful work showing how deep the hooks of addiction grab these poor people. I am trying to build awareness to the true source of fentanyl. The Canadian media wants to push only 2% of fentanyl to the US comes from Canada. When you consider our southern border is not shared with cartel country, how did the overdose rate climb 562% in the last 25 years?
Here is a look inside the fentanyl enabling federal government of Canada:
Thank you for your work with the homeless. They are lost and you and Tara bring them a connection to humanity, and humanness. Tragic to read about the pets. I was friend to a homeless guy when I worked downtown and he died of exposure because he refused to go inside during winter. Thanks again!
I teamed up with a writing coach to better express my views about our elected leaders' failed approach to addiction:
What We’re Really Doing When We Call It “Harm Reduction”
In cities across the country, we’ve been told that “harm reduction” is the compassionate, enlightened way to address addiction. Don’t stigmatize. Don’t judge. Just keep people alive—clean needles, supervised use, no expectations. It sounds humane. But after years of this approach, many of us are looking around and asking: Is this really helping anyone?
The answer is becoming harder to ignore: no, it’s not. And worse—it’s quietly making things worse for both addicts and the public.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: a fentanyl addict is not “choosing” freely. Addiction of this kind is not a lifestyle or a preference—it’s a form of psychological and physical captivity. And yet, the architects of harm reduction treat these individuals as if they were exercising autonomy, making rational choices we should honor and accommodate. That’s not respect. It’s moral evasion.
Let’s be clear: this is not a call for cruelty or criminalization. It’s a call for moral seriousness.
The entire policy framework has been built on a corrupted use of language. “Autonomy” is really incapacity. “Compassion” is moral indifference. “Judgment,” as in knowing right from wrong, is taboo. Suffering is treated like an identity, and to say otherwise is seen as backward or harsh.
But the results speak for themselves. Cities that embraced this model are now seeing entire neighborhoods gutted by open drug use, crime, and disorder. Ordinary citizens—taxpayers, voters, families—are told to tolerate it all in the name of empathy, while their own quality of life declines.
This isn’t just a policy failure. It’s a failure of civic will.
We’ve allowed a professional class of policymakers, activists, and nonprofit leaders to pursue an ideology that’s insulated from its consequences. They preach non-intervention while the rest of us deal with the fallout—overdose deaths, public safety concerns, eroded trust in institutions, and an atmosphere of quiet despair.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can recover our moral vocabulary without reverting to punitive policies. We can say: This is wrong. This is tragic. This must change. That’s not judgmental—that’s what care looks like when you believe people are capable of better lives. And when you care about the people and businesses who are harmed by enabled addiction.
A functioning democracy cannot exist without moral boundaries and public standards. And it cannot last if the people paying for it—through their taxes, their patience, and their daily compromises—are told their concerns don’t matter.
It's time to stop pretending we’re doing anyone a favor by giving up.
One of the most coherent and grounded responses yet! I shared this on my own Substack! Thank you
You're stories are heartbreaking...💔 I wish the city would take an honest look at what works and what doesn't. Constantly enabling them where they are instead of insisting if they want goods & services they need to agree to help. Too bad the city won't listen to people like you and Tara or someone like Sharon Meieran. 😰
This dystopian world is commonly seen in cities w more liberal governments. Virtual signaling in action
Why did you steal from the city of Gresham? You pretend to help people, but not really. All I see is you exploiting people for content. Are you incapable of getting a real job that doesn’t exploit the most vulnerable?
Eli, why so much hate for someone who clearly cares about these people? Do you even know the intricacies of his case? If you don't like him just stop following. Do something constructive with your life.
So sad we enable this cruelty in Portland. I recognize the location of that video…right near Delta Park…it's a dystopian scene rivaling that of Old Town. Been that way for years now. Keith Wilson has only has 9 months left to fulfill his promise of eliminating the inhumanity of street camping in Portland….I haven't noticed any change since he took office. Have you Kevin?
thank you for this. so often the pain that families of addicts endure is invisible. it ruins their lives and suspends their growth. are addicts responsible for anything?
Hi there, I'm an ex addict, very new on substack, trying to pay forward for all those that helped me. Thank you for the work you are doing, it is inspiring. Love never fails 🌾
Do you ever cover the folks that, for one reason or another, get stuck out there on the streets but are otherwise functional "normal" people that then have to contend with all that stuff, along with the difficulties of getting back out of that kind of jam?
I am one who in 3 years on the street never encountered meth or heroin/fentanyl. I like weed. Did K-2 while in shelter with drug screening. Camped alone on a wooded bluff after wearing out the welcome mat. Housed 14 years, now I am encountering the homeless addicts plaguing our small property, defecating ,stealing,sleeping and shooting up in our doorway and behind the building is a secluded area...the wave I came through with had a share of drunks and crackheads...but I did not see this.
City of Milwaukee Wisconsin
We live in a city where law abiding citizens with a conscience kept silent, trusting in the efforts of elected officials and the “social contract”. It’s past time for us to speak the truth that we see on a daily basis: allowing people to harm themselves and others through drug use isn’t compassion, nor does it respect an individual’s humanity.
Beautiful work showing how deep the hooks of addiction grab these poor people. I am trying to build awareness to the true source of fentanyl. The Canadian media wants to push only 2% of fentanyl to the US comes from Canada. When you consider our southern border is not shared with cartel country, how did the overdose rate climb 562% in the last 25 years?
Here is a look inside the fentanyl enabling federal government of Canada:
https://1911ranch.substack.com/p/chin-ada-a-drug-lords-playground?r=59oa6p&utm_medium=ios
Thank you for your work with the homeless. They are lost and you and Tara bring them a connection to humanity, and humanness. Tragic to read about the pets. I was friend to a homeless guy when I worked downtown and he died of exposure because he refused to go inside during winter. Thanks again!