If you’ve walked through any major American city lately, you’ve seen it. Tents under overpasses. People huddled in doorways. The numbers aren’t just a "feeling"—the 2024 Point-in-Time count hit over 770,000 people, which is basically an 18% jump in just one year. That's a massive, record-breaking spike. In response, we’ve seen a radical pivot in how the federal government handles the crisis.
On July 24, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14321, titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” It isn't just a tweak to some obscure HUD handbook. Honestly, it’s a total teardown of the "Housing First" philosophy that’s guided Washington for about twenty years.
The Big Shift: Moving Away from Housing First
For a long time, the rule of thumb was simple: give someone a roof first, then worry about their problems. No preconditions. No forced rehab. The idea was that you can't get sober or mentally stable while you're sleeping on a sidewalk. Trump’s new order basically flips the table on that.
The order directs agencies like HUD (Housing and Urban Development) and HHS (Health and Human Services) to pull back on "Housing First" and instead prioritize "accountability." What does that look like on the ground? It means federal funding is now being steered toward programs that require people to participate in treatment for substance abuse or mental illness as a condition for getting help. If you don't play by the rules of the treatment plan, the housing support might not be there.
Critics are already sounding the alarm, saying this will just lead to more people being kicked out of the few safe places they have. But the administration argues the old way failed. They point to the fact that homelessness grew even as we spent billions on permanent supportive housing.
Trump Executive Orders Homeless: Encampments and "Tent Cities"
One of the most talked-about parts of the order involves the National Guard and "encampment removal." It’s pretty intense. The President has talked openly about clearing out tents from public spaces and relocating people to designated sites—sometimes called "tent cities"—further away from urban centers.
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The legal path for this was cleared by the Supreme Court in Grants Pass v. Johnson. Before that ruling, cities often couldn't kick people off the streets if they didn't have enough shelter beds available. Now, the handcuffs are off for local law enforcement. Trump's executive order takes it a step further by offering federal law enforcement assistance to states for these "removal efforts."
- The Goal: Clear the sidewalks and restore "public order."
- The Method: Use federal grants as a "carrot" for cities that ban urban camping.
- The Consequence: Cities that refuse to enforce these bans could see their federal funding dry up.
The Return of Civil Commitment
This is where the policy gets really controversial. The order instructs the Attorney General to look for ways to expand "involuntary civil commitment."
Basically, it's about making it easier for the government to force people with severe mental illness or addiction into treatment facilities, even if they don't want to go. The administration describes this as "humane treatment" for people who can't care for themselves. They’re even pushing the Department of Justice to try and reverse old court decisions that made it hard to commit people against their will.
The logic here is that a huge chunk of the unsheltered population—about 26% by some estimates—struggles with serious mental health issues. The order suggests that letting them stay on the street isn't "compassionate," it's neglect.
A Data-Driven Crackdown?
There’s also a big push for data sharing in this order. It’s not just about counting heads anymore. The order mandates that HHS, HUD, and the DOJ start sharing behavioral health data with law enforcement.
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The idea is to identify "sexually dangerous persons" or those with violent histories who are living in the shelter system. Section 1 of the order specifically mentions ensuring that people with serious mental illness aren't just released from jail back onto the street because there aren't enough "forensic beds" available. It’s an attempt to bridge the gap between the healthcare system and the criminal justice system.
The Funding Reality Check
Here is the kicker: the order directs agencies to prioritize grant money for cities that enforce bans on:
- Open-air drug use
- Urban camping and loitering
- Squatting
If a city like San Francisco or Seattle wants to keep its federal homelessness grants, they basically have to start arresting or moving people who are breaking these rules. It’s a "tough love" approach that uses the power of the purse to force local governments into alignment with the White House.
However, there’s a massive roadblock: the "Institutions for Mental Disease" (IMD) exclusion. This is a decades-old Medicaid rule that says the feds won't pay for treatment in facilities with more than 16 beds. If Trump wants to move thousands of people into large-scale treatment centers, he’s going to need more than just an executive order—he’s going to need a massive change in how Medicaid works, or a lot of help from Congress.
Actionable Steps for Local Leaders and Advocates
If you're working in this space or just trying to figure out what this means for your community, here are the levers being pulled right now:
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Review Your Grant Compliance If your local non-profit or city agency relies on HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) funding, look at your "Housing First" protocols. The administration is actively revising grant requirements to favor programs with "participation mandates." You might need to pivot your service model to include more rigorous treatment tracking to keep your funding.
Monitor Civil Commitment Laws State legislatures in places like New York and California are already moving toward easier involuntary commitment. Watch for new "technical guidance" from the DOJ that might give your local prosecutors more tools to move individuals from the street into psychiatric care.
Audit Encampment Ordinances With the DOJ now authorized to provide "encampment removal assistance," cities that have been hesitant to clear sites due to legal fears now have a federal "green light." Expect a surge in local ordinances that mirror the language in the executive order to qualify for priority federal funding.
Focus on "Forensic Bed" Capacity For those in the healthcare and legal sectors, the order's focus on forensic beds is a big deal. There is likely going to be a push for more funding toward state-run psychiatric hospitals and jail-based treatment programs. Identifying shovel-ready projects for these facilities could be a winning move for state agencies looking for federal backing.
This isn't just about "cleaning up the streets." It's a fundamental rewrite of the social contract between the government and the most vulnerable people in the country. Whether it works or just moves the problem elsewhere remains the biggest question on the table.