Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released its first mini-documentary on the homeless crisis, with a focus on the “Housing First” approach that has failed the homeless, our communities, and the taxpayers.
In 2013, the federal government rolled out a one-size-fits-all homeless policy: Housing First. It solely funds housing, while defunding services aimed at treating the diseases that largely underlie homelessness: mental illness and addiction.
“The ‘housing solves homelessness’ myth has unequivocally devastated lives and communities and has squandered billions in annual taxpayer funding,” says TPPF Senior Fellow Michele Steeb. “The data have clearly revealed that the one-size-fits-all approach to homelessness—Housing First—experiment did not work. We need to employ a human-first approach, one that addresses the root causes of homelessness including trauma, mental illness and substance abuse disorder.”
“People and systems will flourish only where accountability exists. Most people won’t change when they see the light. Most people will change when they feel the heat. Until we demand that accountability be instilled at every level of the public housing and homeless systems, these systems, and the people they are designed to help, will continue to struggle.”
Click here to watch the new video.
Click here to read TPPF’s research on what is fueling the homelessness crisis.