| US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday calling on cities and states to take action to remove homeless people from the streets and put them into treatment. Trump says the order's intent is to end homelessness, but the policy document prompted outcry from advocacy groups and providers who said that the White House is instead working to criminalize mental health disorders and chronic homelessness. The order signals the end of the federal government’s support for “housing first,” the principle that the best way to treat chronic homelessness is to provide people with shelter first, before requiring them to seek treatment for addiction or mental health disorders. But the order goes further, outlining new possibilities for involuntary commitment, a last-resort option that advocates have long said is counter-productive. The order requires federal agencies to prioritize funding for cities and states that adopt this approach, as well as those that enforce restrictions on camping, loitering and squatting.
The problem with punitive approaches, as researchers at the National Alliance to End Homelessness write, is that “ticketing, jailing, sweeping, and punishing people who are homeless does not reduce homelessness.” Combined with looming GOP budget cuts for housing and health care, the order will “increase the number of people forced to live in tents, in their cars, and on the streets,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director for the nonprofit National Homelessness Law Center, in an email. “This order does nothing to lower the cost of housing or help people make ends meet.” While the executive order is not directly binding on cities and states, it signals future White House actions on funding, oversight and enforcement — and perhaps just as importantly, what actions the government may choose not to take. Read more on the order from Josh Wingrove and Katy O'Donnell: Trump to Sign Order Pressuring Cities, States on Homelessness — Kriston Capps |
