East Pierce community discussion: homelessness and recovery

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Email: [email protected]

Let’s be honest: our community is tired of the soundbites, the political spin, and the partial truths circulating about homelessness, behavioral health, and public safety. For too long, voters haven't been given a fair shot at hearing whole, truthful information about the systemic failures happening right in our backyard.
It’s time to change the narrative.
Join us for a town hall discussion. We aren't here to manage optics; we are here to pull back the curtain on the actual legal, systemic, and human realities we've all been seeing here in Pierce County. We’re going to dive headfirst into the critical issues that are often overlooked during other events, including:
The Legal Realities: The raw truth about what the Blake decision and the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass ruling actually meant for individual rights and legal response.
The Hidden Data: The reality of shelter availability, what large-scale sweeps actually accomplish, and how systemic under-counting masks the true scale of the impact.
The Ripple Effect: The invisible crisis of youth and family homelessness, and how housing instability strains our local education, healthcare, and emergency response infrastructure.
Real Recovery Over Rhetoric: Breaking down behavioral health, substance use, and co-occurring challenges from a place of frontline, boots-on-the-ground reality—not political convenience.
A Community-Wide Collaborative Discussion
This is not a dry lecture, and it’s not an event where you sit silently waiting for a ten minute Q&A at the very end.
The Community will be a core part of the discussion. This forum is built on interactive cross-discussion where neighbors, community members, and our panelists tackle these issues together in real time. Bring your insights, your tough questions, and your lived experiences
You will be part of shaping this conversation nearly the entire event.
🎙️ The Frontline Panel
We are bringing together local leaders and experts who see the reality of these crises every single day to think, discuss, and build solutions right alongside you:
Darius Alexander – Director of Community Connections for the Bethel School District, working directly with the invisible crisis of student and family instability.
Chelsea McElroy – Tacoma Public School Board Member, advocating for the youth and families navigating these compounding crises.
Steve Decker – CEO for Family Promise of Puget Sound, leading the charge on Resource Coordination and explaining systematic gaps of services.
Thoren H. – Host of the Table18 podcast, bringing critical lived experience, recovery insight, and advocacy to the table.
Mayor Ned Witting – Mayor of Puyallup, bringing local executive perspective on municipal impacts and enforcement challenges.
Kenneth King – Behavioral Health, Crisis Intervention Specialist, and Candidate for Pierce County Council.
And others to be announced!
⚠️ Please Note: Because our panelists are active leaders fighting these crises on the front lines, their work is inherently emergent. This list is subject to change based on immediate, real-world community availability.
🎟️ Join the Movement & Support the Campaign
Your contributions keep this campaign independent, transparent, and focused on real solutions. Real leadership means having the courage to correct misinformation and deliver real, sustainable results for community well-being.