On July 24, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to move those living in homeless encampments around the United States into treatment facilities with both mental health and substance use services (1). This executive order marks an abrupt change in direction and policy.

Beginning in the 1990s, an accepted idea on how to deal with the chronic homelessness crisis was a program called “Housing First.” This program offered the homeless, including people living rough outside, free housing with no strings attached. The program could be found in many communities throughout the United States and Canada.

For many, the Housing First approach was a huge success. People who had bad luck, lost employment, had medical bills to pay, or dealt with other unexpected problems (often without a serious mental illness or substance abuse issues) were able to get a new chance at life, and many successfully went back to work and financial independence. I’ve met a number of these people through my church in downtown Cincinnati, which offers Housing First-based programs, and have donated to their excellent mission over the years.

There were also reports of what happened to another population of people—the mentally ill homeless and those living with a drug addiction, often outside—who were also served by Housing First. Fortunately, once they were housed, many of these people were found to voluntarily seek professional services (even though Housing First did not require it) and work on their addiction and/or mental illness. In treatment, many began to successfully rebuild their lives.

However, the main underlying problem with Housing First was unexpected.........

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