At Community of Hope, we are very concerned about President Trump’s recent Executive Order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” which purports to focus on alleviating homelessness across the country. However, the cruel irony is that the steps it proposes would worsen homelessness and further traumatize those experiencing it. People living on the streets may be arrested and worse yet, forced into mental health or substance use institutions, which are already in short supply. The groundwork for this Executive Order was laid by the 2024 Supreme Court case Grants Pass v Johnson, and it takes the ruling to the next extreme, running contrary to best practices.
After many years of careful research and experience, we know that combining affordable housing with health and mental health services, addiction treatment, job training, and other supportive services – an approach known as Housing First – is highly successful in ending homelessness. The President’s order, on the other hand, focuses on involuntary civil commitment and long-term institutionalization of those experiencing homelessness. The Order will mean more people are in jail or mental health institutions. These types of interventions are extremely costly. Forcing people into institutions for long periods of time against their will could be highly traumatic and counterproductive.
Locking people away is inhumane, and will not solve the underlying causes of homelessness, nor will violating their civil rights by attempting to expand the legal authority of involuntary detention. We all want to end homelessness. And we know what the main challenges to reducing homelessness are: increasing access to affordable housing; more access to quality health care; and the availability of well-paying jobs. The President’s Order offers no new resources to address these root causes of homelessness. Instead, it aims to criminalize the very people who we need to help.
Community of Hope’s programs, which are founded on Housing First principles, have been successful in ending homelessness and improving lives for people, as shown through our Annual Impact Report and Stories of Hope. We need to raise our voices so that our community continues to invest in and stay focused on the solutions that work.
Raising your voice includes staying informed. The changes at the federal level steal headlines, but the way your local community actually cares for people experiencing homelessness is the priority. DC just passed its FY2026 budget which makes significant reductions to funding homelessness services. Cuts also extend to health insurance coverage and services for people with severe and persistent mental illness. Community of Hope has been deeply engaged during the DC budget process, especially when we saw rules prohibiting supportive case management in Rapid Re-housing, or a major shift in policy that would have forced families into congregate shelter. We rallied our peer organizations, spoke to councilmembers, interviewed with the press and saw both of those damaging policies changed.
Please join us in reaching out to your local representatives on the DC Council and national leaders in Congress to let them know that you support investment in approaches that are compassionate and evidence-based. Along with your voice, your volunteerism and your generosity are critical in the challenging years ahead.
