Nobody wants people sleeping on the streets. Experts have agreed for years that the best way to prevent this is to create more housing that ordinary people can afford, and provide housing – coupled with support services for addiction, mental health and other help – to those living on the streets.
That is the only approach that has proven to work. Until recently, the state of Utah was the leader in this regard.
But now Utah has announced a new approachWith the support of the Trump administration, that could reverse this progress. And the Trump administration is making a proposal dramatic changes in housing funds That could force states like California to follow suit — or lose the money altogether.
That would be a disaster.
Utah opens a massive “accountability center” in the suburbs of Salt Lake City. Ostensibly the center will treat addiction and provide mental health care, but in practice this center will function as a prison where poor people who cannot afford housing are sent against their will.
This “solution” was put forward by political appointees and business leaders, not actual experts on homelessness. Local advocates warn that this massive center will not have the resources to provide treatment to the 1,300 people held there against their will. Instead, they fear it will only divert resources from programs that actually work.
Experts have also raised concerns that the government consultant promoting this plan has a financial stake in the center: his company has software that can earn tax money to operate these internment camps.
Not long ago, Salt Lake was considered one model for solving homelessnesswhen a local housing program managed to get almost the entire veteran homeless population off the streets. They did this not by forcing homeless veterans into detention camps, but by providing them with permanent, subsidized housing, along with robust health and social services.
But supporters of this detention center did opposed moving people from the streets to homes with on-site servicescalling these policies “permissive” – even though they actually work if adequately funded and supported by elected officials.
There are certainly ‘tolerant policies’ being pushed by politicians.
Landlords can benefit record high rents fueling homelessness. Companies are allowed to pay wages so low that full-time employees still cannot afford housing and groceries.
A ruling from our billionaire-backed Supreme Court makes this possible cities to fine and jail people forced to live on the streets because they cannot afford housing even if shelter is not available.
And under the government’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” the wealthiest Americans may get trillions of dollars in tax cuts while they… ordinary people are denied healthcare, food assistance, decent wages or housing they can afford.
The Trump administration has actively promoted all of this. Laws are popping up across the country that make it illegal to be homeless. Rents continue to rise, along with the cost of living, without increasing wages. And we see massive cuts to food, health care, and housing that will only increase homelessness.
If we don’t act now to demand common-sense solutions that actually work, we could enter a period in our country that we will look back on with great regret – where government policies lead to mass poverty and disease, and those forced onto the streets are imprisoned.
Who is not locked up? Wealthier people struggling with addiction and mental health issues. They get access to the quality care they need – and if they relapse, they can get the same care they need again.
This is what all people deserve – and what research tells us works. We need to scale back investments in actually housing people, not locking them up.
Jeremy Saunders is the Co-Executive Director of VOCAL-NY, part of VOCAL-ONSan organization dedicated to ending homelessness and the overdose crisis. He has been working on homeless issues for 18 years.
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