It is located at 1811 Eastlake Ave in Seattle and it opened in 2005. The purpose of the shelter was to house 75 homeless people who suffered from alcoholism. Instead of simply feeding and sheltering homeless people, they made an effort to deal with the cause and the suffering of the people. They treated them for alcoholism and interacted with them as if they were paying, traditional members of society. The results were stunning.
1811 Eastlake has been intricately studied for it's success and has been imitated across the country. By taking homeless people and helping them to better their lives, they allowed previously dysfunctional members of society to restart their lives and contribute to the economy, while simultaneously reducing the number of homeless people throughout the city. It is estimated that around $4 million is saved by helping the people to go back to work and by not needing to support them for the rest of their lives!
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