HUD Re-Issues New Homeless Grant Criteria, Freeing Cities to Ditch Housing First, Pursue Real Solutions

SEATTLE, WA — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released its 2026 grant criteria for $4 billion in homelessness funding, with a major shift toward treatment, recovery, and renewed self-sufficiency for all who are able.

“Federal reforms have finally created space for local leaders to put treatment and recovery back at the center of homelessness policy,” says Discovery Institute President Steve Buri. “Real compassion means helping people reclaim stability and dignity, not leaving them trapped in addiction and illness without a path to restoration.”

Discovery Institute has updated its essential policy brief, calling on local governments, Continuums of Care (CoCs), and service agencies to leverage these new federal reforms and make treatment and recovery central to local homelessness solutions.

The brief outlines how “Housing First” and “Harm Reduction” policies have failed the homeless by misdiagnosing the crisis as primarily a housing shortage rather than a crisis driven by untreated mental illness and addiction. Instead, Discovery Institute recommends treatment-centered, recovery-focused systems that promote personal restoration and long-term self-sufficiency.

The brief urges policymakers and service providers to redefine success: measure progress by the number of individuals who achieve recovery and independence, not by the number of taxpayer-funded housing vouchers distributed. It emphasizes that real compassion involves helping people regain stability, employment, and dignity through treatment and structured recovery programs.

Discovery Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan organization focused on advancing a culture of purpose, creativity, and innovation. Through its Fix Homelessness initiative, the Institute offers innovative research and compassionate solutions to the growing crisis of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness facing many American cities.

Media Contact:
Caitlin Cory
Communications Coordinator
Phone: (434) 329-0785
Email: ccory@discovery.org