Farewell, Housing First. At last.
HUD's pivot away from Housing First leads to nationwide drop in homelessness.
Background: In 2025, HUD moved away from the long-standing "Housing First" policy, which prioritized free, permanent housing for the homeless. Experts agree that the policy led to years of increasing homelessness, as it ignored the substantial roles addiction and mental health play in our homelessness crisis. Instead, HUD is now implementing a Treatment First policy, focusing on care and prevention, to exceptional results: A 6% drop in homelessness nationwide. The Fed's pivot away from Housing First is similar to policy redirection that occurred in many CA cities, as well, including SF and SJ. Multiple sources report, below.
HUD reports largest drop in homelessness:
HUD announced that homelessness recorded its largest-ever decline nationwide, with the 2026 Point-in-Time count recording 698,425 homeless individuals on a single night in January. Nationwide homelessness decreased 6.3% since 2025.
The federal agency credits a shift away from the Housing First model, though local counts in Los Angeles rose.
HUD is replacing the Housing First model, which provides shelter without requiring addiction treatment first, with Treatment First policies that emphasize substance abuse treatment.
The announcement marks a direct reversal of previous administrations' Housing First mandate, which HUD says drove a 28% rise in homelessness between 2022 and 2025.
--Wisevoter.com
Cicero Institute draws comparisons:
Los Angeles stayed with Housing First. Homelessness rose 1%.
San Francisco moved toward enforcement and drug-free housing. Homelessness fell 8%.
Policy choices have consequences.--Cicero Institute
Read more
Secretary Turner: Still work to do:
However, after a decade of failed Housing First policies, homelessness remains near a historic high. Clearly, there is more work to do. HUD is rejecting the addiction-fueled depravity seen from LA’s Skid Row to New York’s ‘Boulevard of Broken Dreams’ and moving to Treatment First to restore lives of self-sufficiency.--Secretary Housing and Urban Development, Scott Turner
Incenting accountability:
In June 2026, Turner announced a competitive homelessness assistance funding initiative intended to support programs emphasizing measurable outcomes. HUD said the initiative attracted a record 3,700 new applications from organizations across the country.
In August, HUD released its “Best Practices Toolkit: Addressing Homelessness and Addiction through Treatment First” in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
The toolkit outlines the administration’s preferred approaches for connecting people experiencing homelessness with treatment and other support services.--WRNJ Radio
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