A homeless woman told me most people on the streets feel useless—and if they didn’t, they’d be far more likely to accept help. She didn’t blame social services, but pointed out that most programs focus on external fixes like housing while overlooking the internal damage homelessness causes. When someone feels worthless, undeserving, or broken, even help can feel out of reach. Until people regain a sense of purpose and self-worth, support systems will continue to miss many of the people they’re d

I spent the day inside the largest homeless encampment in Washington State—right here in Olympia, the city with the highest per-capita homelessness rate in the entire state. The scale of this place is staggering, It’s easily the second-largest encampment I’ve seen anywhere in the country. I often focus on Oregon’s radical policies, but Washington is every bit as dysfunctional. A woman living in the camp told me, without hesitation, that people here are absolutely being enabled. She’s dying from