
Thirty years ago, housing activists began an unusual experiment to help people struggling with homelessness and chronic addiction. They decided to get people into housing first and then try to help their clients with their addictions. This idea, called "Housing First," is now the central strategy guiding homeless services in America. But the concept is facing new scrutiny and growing criticism from conservative lawmakers. Today on The Sunday Story, we look at the controversy around Housing First and consider if the strategy is working as it was designed.You can listen to Will James's full documentary on KUOW's Soundside podcast.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Full Episode
I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and this is a Sunday Story from Up First, where we go beyond the news to bring you one big story. Not long ago, reporter Will James walked into an apartment building in Seattle and met a tenant named Kenny Taylor.
Good morning. Oh, thanks so much. Yeah, this is great.
This building, the Union Hotel, is the first in Seattle to operate under a philosophy called Housing First. And Kenny was one of the original tenants who moved in 30 years ago. He came here straight off the streets.
I was homeless for about five years before I moved in here. I slept in doorways, I slept on the street, I slept in tents, I slept at the missions and stuff like that. I slept fun. Being homeless is not fun at all.
When Kenny moved into his apartment in the 1990s, Housing First was an experiment and nobody knew how it was going to turn out. But now, 30 years later, Housing First is the central strategy the federal government uses to combat homelessness. So is it working? And is it working like it's supposed to?
When housing first was introduced, the idea was to take some of the most vulnerable people living on the streets and move them immediately into their own permanent subsidized apartments. A lot of these people had serious mental illnesses and addictions. The plan was to get them a home first and then worry about treating those problems later.
Housing first started as a fringe idea, but eventually evidence started piling up that this worked to resolve many of the most stubborn cases of chronic homelessness. When people got housing under this approach, they usually stayed housed for years, like Kenny.
This is my home. I'm going to keep my home as long as I pay my rent. I just feel happy here. I wouldn't trade it for nothing in the world.
But with homelessness now at record levels, conservative think tanks and activists have set their sights on the philosophy of housing first. They're pushing for more programs that require treatment and sobriety before housing. And Project 2025 calls for ending support of it all together.
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