Criminalizing homelessness is wrong. This week’s executive order encourages states to do just that—by prioritizing law enforcement and involuntary treatment over housing and care. It offers federal incentives to states that criminalize homelessness and withdraws support from evidence-based solutions like Housing First and harm-reduction programs. Rather than addressing the root causes of homelessness, this order promotes responses that are harmful, costly, and proven to fail.
At Building Changes, we reject this approach in the strongest possible terms. This is not a policy rooted in care or effectiveness—it is a step backward that will increase suffering, prolong housing instability, and make it even harder for children, youth, and families to find safety and stability. It threatens to undo years of progress in Washington State and across the country.
This executive order follows last year’s Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court decision, which allowed cities to penalize people for sleeping outdoors when no shelter is available. That ruling opened the door to criminalization, and this order charges through it—treating homelessness as a public nuisance rather than a public health and housing issue. It substitutes enforcement for empathy, and punishment for policy.
For Washington’s youth and families, the stakes are high. When children lack stable housing, their education, health, and long-term wellbeing are at risk. We’ve seen that when we invest in housing, mental health care, and school-based supports, students do better—and communities grow stronger. This executive order moves us in the wrong direction by shifting resources away from those very supports.
“This executive order undermines the approaches that have shown the greatest promise. If we want to reduce homelessness, we must strengthen the housing and care systems that families and youth rely on—not diminish them,” said Interim Executive Director, Mehret Tekle-Awarun.
We urge leaders and advocates to stay informed, speak out, and take action. Join us in calling for humane, effective, and equitable responses to homelessness—responses that focus on housing, not handcuffs.
