Mind the Gap
Faith-Based Organizations Fill the Gap Between Faltering Federal Homelessness Responses and Lasting Solutions
When the Supreme Court decided Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, homelessness was again brought to the national fore. The Court ruled that municipalities may enforce camping bans even if they lack the requisite shelter space. Grants Pass belies a major problem aggravating the crisis: cities nationwide do not have enough bedspace in shelters. Yet this “shortage” discounts faith-based organizations, which provide beds and services but often are not counted due to religious affiliations. Still, faith-based shelters fill a crucial hole in the tapestry of homelessness responses, filling the shelter gap and shifting the landscape toward accountability, treatment, and care for those who need it.
Federal “Housing First” policies, such as permanent supportive housing and other low-barrier options, have only exacerbated the homelessness problem. This portfolio disincentivizes recovery, instead tolerating spikes in behavioral health conditions, especially substance abuse disorders. A 2023 study conducted by UCSF reported that 65 percent of homeless individuals had experienced substance abuse during their lives. The exceptionally high rate of substance abuse among homeless Americans reveals a sobering reality—federal responses fail to understand, let alone address, the most stubborn problems of homelessness.
The disparity may also be partially due to the fact that faith-based organizations are excluded from HUD’s data, since they reject federal funding which would prohibit them from practicing certain accountability measures, such as sobriety and treatment adherence‑the same measures that make them effective. To ignore faith-based organizations is to disregard almost 60 percent of emergency shelter beds nationwide, according to a 2017 study from Baylor University study. Faith-based organizations are the real backbone of the homelessness response, serving as a stable resource amidst a decades-long revolving door of federal failures.
Faith-based organizations, unencumbered by federal grant restrictions, take more nuanced approaches to help homeless Americans. Notably, many shelters uphold substance-free requirements for their services. While Housing First advocates worry that such requirements are unfair to those suffering from addiction, a permissive allowance of addiction reveals a corruption of compassion—indifference under the guise of acceptance. Faith-based shelters, guided by their moral principles, are not afraid to give people the “tough love” they need to recover and maintain long-term housing. Ultimately, this means holding homeless individuals accountable to treatment so that ultimately they may overcome the conditions preventing them from taking advantage of the full range of services available to them.
This accountability is not nearly as draconian as commonly believed. For example, at Our Father’s House in Fitchburg, MA, total sobriety is not punitively enforced. When Jason Poudrier failed a breathalyzer test, he said, “They just asked me to leave until 7:30 at night, come back … shower, go right into my room.” Even if a person is unable to stay at Our Father’s, alternative resources are presented. “I haven’t had anybody that has come to me under the influence and then slept outside,” says the organization’s Director of Homeless Services, as reported by WBUR.
Sobriety is only one facet of helping the homeless, but it highlights the accountability-first approach of faith-based shelters, in contrast to permissive solutions touted by Housing First. It also reveals collaboration opportunities between these organizations and states to expand care capacities. The aforementioned Baylor study found that an effective way for states and private organizations to collaborate is by establishing sobering centers, which relieve police from having to cite or arrest intoxicated individuals. In Houston, they saved the city up to 4.5 million dollars annually. It is in the best interest of states to turn to organizations who know homeless members of the community and to back practices shown to be successful and compassionate. Tough love is not cruel, and accountability is not easy. Faith-based organizations are setting an example states should follow. These organizations, unafraid to uphold high standards to support the long-term success and recovery of homeless community members can be effective partners to states looking to ease, not exacerbate, the homelessness crisis.