It turns out the problems many homeless individuals face — including schizophrenia, multiple personality disorders, and post-traumatic stress — are much more serious than “just getting a roof over their head” can resolve.


of common homeless behaviors. Critics charge that harm reduc-


tion actually enables homelessness rather than combating it. Walter tells Newsmax there’s


zero evidence that “harm reduction” reduces homelessness. “You are not reducing harm,” he


says, “by helping people to ingest incredibly powerful drugs into their bodies.”


Similarly dysfunctional, he says,


court ruled that the law represented cruel and unusual punishment target- ing the homeless. When the case reached the


Supreme Court, a staggering 759 homeless advocacy organizations filed amicus briefs defending the right of the homeless to camp out on public sidewalks. By a 6-3 majority, the high court


ruled that laws limiting the authority of homeless advocates to put up tents and build encampments on sidewalks did not represent cruel and unusual punishment. Critics of homeless advocacy cite


two approaches to managing home- less populations as prime examples of fatally flawed policies: “Harm Reduc- tion” and “Housing First.”


REDUCING ‘HARM REDUCTION’ As the Grants Pass case suggests, one progressive approach to the home- less crisis is decriminalization. These measures include overdose


training, the distribution of fentanyl test strips, and handing out condoms to reduce the harmful consequences


are “housing first” policies that emphasize getting a roof over some- one’s head before they take any steps toward better behavior. It turns out the problems many


homeless individuals face — includ- ing schizophrenia, multiple person- ality disorders, and post-traumatic stress — are much more serious than “just getting a roof over their head” can resolve. Indeed, many who suffer from homelessness categorically refuse to submit to sleeping on a bed in a homeless facility. In recent decades, homeless advo-


cates promoting the “housing first” regime have received billions in fed- eral grant monies. It now appears, however, that they will have to adopt new policies and practices, or risk losing their federal funding.


TRUMP REJECTS


‘HOUSING FIRST’ In mid-November, the Trump admin- istration proposed what The New York Times termed “drastic cuts” in grants for programs that provide uncondi- tional housing for the homeless. Under the new system, “hous- ing first” grants would decrease by


two-thirds. The funds instead would be shift-


ed into programs that mandate work rules to qualify for assistance. Home- less individuals would be required to receive treatment for any mental ill- ness or addiction that afflicts them. More money would also flow to


police departments to help them dismantle the homeless camps that have become fixtures in blue cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. The nonprofits that benefit from


the current system protested loud- ly over the policy shift, with some warning that the funding change could put 170,000 homeless people back out on America’s streets. Rachel Sheffield, a research fel-


low with The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Health and Welfare Pol- icy, says homeless initiatives and welfare programs like SNAP food assistance would all benefit by giving states greater authority to track down erroneous payments and fraud. “That would be a really key piece


of it,” she said. “There are other things, as far as fraud goes, where you could strengthen the eligibility verification process.” Walter has one additional sugges-


tion: Make sure the grant recipients can show they truly are making a pos- itive difference in getting homeless people off the streets. “Americans are generous and com- passionate, and they want to help peo- ple who are suffering,” said Walter. “And they’re willing to let tax dollars go to do that. “But the folks getting those tax dol-


lars should be able to prove that human lives are better off because of it.”


JANUARY 2026 | NEWSMAX 35


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