U.S. — President Trump signed an executive order aimed at moving homeless people off the streets one year prior to the report. The directive marks a shift in federal policy by replacing the Housing First model with incentives for states to ban urban camping and expand involuntary civil commitment.

Federal agencies have authorized states to expand the use of civil commitment for homeless individuals with mental illness or substance abuse problems. The Justice Department and Health and Human Services Departments were directed to prioritize funding for states that carry out involuntary psychiatric treatment, described as maximally flexible civil commitment, of individuals with mental illness who pose a danger to others or are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to transform the primary system of funding for organizations combating homelessness to comply with the executive order, pending a court challenge. HUD's 2026 competition notice for grants indicated it has cut the available funds for permanent, supportive housing funding from about $3 billion to $2.4 billion, compared to 2024. The notice shifts a greater portion of funding, $1.3 billion, to new transitional, temporary housing programs, compared to the approximately $218 million allocated in 2024.

The administration's vision of how HUD can increase accountability in the over $4 billion in grants proposed for homelessness assistance has been stuck in litigation. Attorneys general from 21 states and the National Alliance to End Homelessness sued HUD in July over the latest plan for funding. A legal challenge to stop HUD's 2025 plan for funding was successful in April.

A recent lawsuit cites a claim by the National Alliance to End Homelessness that the shift towards temporary, transitional housing could kick 97,000 people out of permanent supportive housing. The executive order argues that past policies neglected root causes of homelessness and created a public safety risk. It argued that public order would be restored by committing homeless people to long-term institutional settings for humane treatment.

Housing First is an approach that promotes non-conditional access to housing without requiring sobriety, compliance with treatment, or other demands of recipients. Housing First was initially adopted as a national federal strategy by President George W. Bush's administration in 2004. Housing First policies have been used by HUD and other federal agencies to address homelessness since 2013.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's report on homelessness in 2025 claimed there has been a roughly 27% increase in homelessness since 2013. About 30% of those experiencing chronic homelessness have a serious mental illness, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Two-thirds of those experiencing chronic homelessness have a substance use disorder or other chronic health condition, according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The executive order prioritized funding for states and cities that ban urban camping, urban squatting, and open illicit drug use. The executive order called on the Justice Department to reverse any consent decrees that would impede civil commitments. A June Justice Department legal opinion made it easier for states to keep those with mental illness institutionalized, rather than provide them with in-home or community-based care. There are limits on the HHS funding being used on Housing First or harm reduction policies.

Administration officials claim the executive order has resulted in $700 million in HHS funding aimed at helping people with addiction and mental illness, as well as homelessness. Multiple Republican states have passed laws that penalize homeless encampments or expand the facilitation of involuntary institutionalizations. Louisiana passed a bill this year that makes it a crime to sleep overnight or camp on public property.

Louisiana's HB 211, called the Streets to Success Act, punishes first-time violators with fines up to $500. Eligible individuals in Louisiana may sign up for a Homelessness Court Program to avoid spending up to six months in jail. The Louisiana Homelessness Court Program supervises participants for a year and provides access to substance abuse treatment, mental health services, job training, and housing assistance. Participants in the Louisiana Homelessness Court Program who complete the program could have their conviction erased.

Participants in the Louisiana Homelessness Court Program who do not complete the program risk a jail sentence. The Louisiana state law says participants may be confined in a treatment facility or released on a probationary basis. The Louisiana court could impose rehabilitation conditions on participants in the Homelessness Court Program. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry defended the homeless courts, arguing they would help start removing the homeless off of our streets and into the places that they belong.

Shaina Bessonet, a dental hygienist in Louisiana who experienced homelessness from January 2022 to March 2026, testified against the bill before the state legislature. Utah approved more than $43 million in spending earlier this year in part to target high utilizers, defined as those who repeatedly cycle through homeless shelters and jail. A new Utah law allows high utilizers to be put under the supervision of the state's Division of Adult Probation and Parole.

The Cicero Institute advised the White House on the crafting of the executive order. The Cicero Institute is a conservative think tank established by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. Devon Kurtz is a policy director at the Cicero Institute.

Jennifer Mathis is deputy director of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health. Jennifer Mathis was a Biden-era official in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Why It Matters

The executive order replaces the Housing First model with a strategy prioritizing involuntary civil commitment and bans on urban camping. This shift redirects billions in federal grants from permanent supportive housing to temporary programs and states that enforce institutionalization. Consequently, funding conditions now require sobriety and treatment compliance, altering access for the two-thirds of chronically homeless individuals with substance use disorders or chronic health conditions.