I lived in a homeless encampment for a week. I saw how Housing First doesn’t work.

More than 650,000 Americans experienced homelessness on any given night last year ‒ a 12% increase since 2022. Chronic homelessness is also worsening, with over 143,000 people homeless for at least a year in 2023, an all-time high.

I’ve been the mayor of Aurora, Colorado, for five years. In my first term in 2020, I lived among people experiencing homelessness in Aurora and Denver for a week – not as Mayor Coffman, but just as Mike. I wanted to understand why Colorado’s homeless community was growing and how my city could best help. 

The leading policy approach to homelessness, and the one that attracts the lion’s share of government funding, is “Housing First.” Essentially, it prioritizes placing individuals into permanent housing as quickly as possible without addressing other issues like untreated mental illness or drug addiction.

No one can doubt the sincerity of Housing First advocates. But its proponents have been seduced by an illusory “silver bullet.”

After spending time in encampments, it became clear that solving homelessness won’t have a one-size-fits-all solution. Many individuals were battling addiction and had little chance of holding down a job. Others dealt with mental health challenges. 

That’s why a broader approach is necessary. Federal and state governments should expand support for other programs that respect individual responsibility and focus on moving people forward ‒ especially addiction recovery, mental health and job training ‒ rather than leaving them to repeat destructive cycles that hold them back. 

Housing First isn’t working. Homelessness still climbs.

In its worst iteration, Housing First is a no-strings-attached approach. Beneficiaries receive housing and don’t need to attend job training programs or agree to a sober lifestyle. It’s a well-intentioned approach, but it simply isn’t working. 

Since 2019, California has spent $24 billion on homelessness programs, even mandating all state-funded programs to adopt the Housing First model. Homeless resource centers aren’t allowed to make housing conditional on participation in addiction recovery or job training programs. Yet chronic homelessness in the state keeps climbing. 

In Utah, Housing First has been the de facto approach since 2005. Yet from 2017 to 2022, the number of chronically homeless skyrocketed 328%. 

Homelessness is destroying US cities.Supreme Court must let them get it under control.

Despite these failures, Housing First remains the priority for federal and state funding. This year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development released $3.16 billion for projects that house or serve people experiencing homelessness. The Department encouraged “approaches that first connect people to housing” over those “requiring people experiencing homelessness to first complete a treatment program or achieve sobriety.”

This preferential treatment stunts programs that address underlying causes of homelessness. One study showed that more than 60% of chronically homeless individuals reported drug or alcohol abuse.  

Yet there is hope. As a Coloradan, I don’t have to look very far to find successful models with tangible results.

What works better at curbing homelessness than Housing First

Step Denver provides free housing, addiction recovery programs and peer recovery support for hundreds of men each year. The program includes career counseling, 12-step meetings and life skills classes. After leaving, 84% find a full-time job and 80% report sustained sobriety.

Likewise, Ready to Work, a program run by Boulder-based nonprofit Bridge House, takes a “three-legged stool” approach by providing employment, housing and additional support like career mentoring and medical care to homeless individuals in Boulder and Aurora. Nearly three-quarters of Ready to Work’s trainees successfully move on to permanent housing after about a year in the program.  

In Colorado Springs, residents at Springs Rescue Mission receive a mentor, a case manager, skills classes and individualized treatment plans if needed.

Colorado Springs’ approach has resulted in a decrease in unsheltered homelessness over the past several years, in contrast with neighboring Denver, where this population is growing.

It’s not just Colorado. Nationwide, centers that address the root causes of homelessness are transforming lives.

The Chapman Partnership in Miami creates an individualized Housing Stability Plan for each client who seeks housing, providing workforce development programs, social services and long-term housing opportunities. It has achieved an 80% outplacement rate.

In Phoenix, the nonprofit St. Joseph the Worker provides transitional housing and financial literacy resources for clients who work full-time but are at risk of homelessness. Since the program began, about 250 clients have moved on to permanent independent housing.

Aurora is following suit and launching a Navigation Campus as early as next year. The center will provide mental health services, recovery programs, health care and workforce development. Emergency shelter will be available to anyone who needs it, but long-term private housing will be reserved for clients who seek employment and engage with a case manager. 

Aurora is taking action to invest in people and establish the infrastructure needed to have a lasting impact. I hope it can serve as a model for cities nationwide.

Mike Coffman is the mayor of Aurora, Colorado.