Call to Action: Write a Letter to Stand Against Anticipated Federal Actions to Shift Homelessness Policy

A number of reports are highlighting anticipated federal actions to address homelessness that would shift federal funding priorities in a major way. There are several highly concerning aspects of rumored changes, specifically around the criminalization of homelessness.

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The recent appointment of Robert Marbut of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness has played a role in the Trump Administration's talks of a new approach to addressing homelessness. With no prior experience in homeless services or with homelessness itself, Marbut is most known for starting his own consulting firm to advise cities to take a "Housing Fourth" approach, which centers on a mega-shelter model and services that stress housing readiness, despite the evidence from Housing First programs that have shown dramatic decreases in veterans and chronic homelessness.

Some of the proposed policy changes include:

  • The White House's Domestic Policy Council and HUD’s policy changes would lead to an aggressive approach by centering the role of law enforcement to address homelessness

  • Homeless advocates and policy research groups are expecting an executive order to allocate new resources to police departments to remove homeless encampments and to strip funding from cities that don't take measures to remove them

  • Trump's anticipated executive order may also include a plan to use former prisons and correctional facilities as shelters, taking an “out of sight, out of mind” approach

For more information:

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities—Trump Administration Rule Would Reverse Communities’ Progress Toward Meeting Fair Housing Obligations

City Lab—The Consultant Leading the White House Push Against Homelessness

Molly Martin