If Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is seeking additional targets in the fight against waste, fraud and abuse, he should look no further than to the federal government’s sprawling network of failed homeless programs, riddled with inefficiencies and pouring billions into a crisis that only gets worse.
Newly appointed HUD Secretary Scott Turner wasted no time identifying $260 million in savings at HUD, a crucial first step in streamlining an agency long plagued by inefficiencies. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
DOGE has an opportunity to go much further, exposing the vast waste in the federal homelessness-industrial complex and redirecting billions toward policies that will actually deliver results.
For more than a decade, our nation has been locked into a single, federally mandated approach to homelessness known as “Housing First.” This model, which promises “in perpetuity” housing with no requirements — for sobriety, for participation in treatment, or for seeking work — was championed by former President Barack Obama as the solution that would end homelessness within 10 years.
Instead, homelessness has exploded to record levels. Overdose deaths have surged, and public disorder has reached a breaking point.
The federal government is the largest single funder of homelessness programs, distributing most of its funds through local governments. Since most cities and counties rely heavily on these federal dollars — often contributing less of their own funding in comparison — their mandate effectively not only dictates how these funds are spent but also shapes local homelessness policy. Thus, communities are left with little choice but to adhere to the Housing First model, even if it proves ineffective or misaligned with their specific needs.
The 2013 mandate of Housing First as universal policy stripped government funding from programs that required sobriety, workforce participation or mental health treatment, as well as from shelters and transitional housing, to increase the number of private housing unit subsidies — also known as vouchers — for the homeless.
The catastrophe we’re witnessing should come as no surprise. We gutted the nation’s homeless system, stripped away accountability, and then acted shocked when homelessness skyrocketed.
Michele Steeb is the founder of Free Up Foundation and author of “Answers Behind the RED DOOR: Battling the Homeless Epidemic” based on her 13 years as CEO of northern California’s largest program for homeless women and children.Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer.
