(WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 29th, 2026) Today’s release of the Point in Time (PIT) Homeless Census shows that, between 2024 and 2025, homelessness fell by 3.3% nationwide. This is good news: it means that over tens of thousands of people moved from homelessness into housing. This PIT count, conducted just weeks into Trump’s second term, reflects the progress made through the Biden administration’s commitment to proven solutions to homelessness, like housing and support. These results show clearly that solving homelessness is possible.  

But, over the past year and a half since the 2025 PIT count was conducted, Trump has done everything in his power to backtrack on this progress. Instead of bringing down the cost of basic needs like housing, food, and healthcare, Trump and his right-wing billionaire backers are using their power to make homelessness worse. Specifically, his administration:  

• Inspired cities and states to push laws that make it a crime to be homeless, including a bill to push homeless people into forced treatment and unpaid labor in Louisiana and a plan to create a remote homeless detention camp in Utah.
• Directed federal agencies to fund programs that take rights and autonomy away from homeless people, including involuntarily commitments, court conditioned treatment, and guardianships for homeless veterans. 
• Attempted devastating cuts to housing, harm reduction, mental health services, which were stopped only due to advocacy in courts and in Congress. These cuts would have included putting nearly 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the streets.
• Took over cities, naming homelessness as a reason for federal intrusion. This includes the ongoing military takeover of DC that has resulted in the displacement of homeless Washingtonians and ICE occupation of Minneapolis, during which three homeless members of the Oglala Sioux tribe were kidnapped.
• Evicted nearly 200 people from the Deschutes National Forest while offering no safe alternative. 

All the while, he has done nothing to bring rent down or make it more affordable for people to get by. And notably, this PIT count was released six months late, showing the complete lack of seriousness with which the Trump administration is approaching homelessness.  

“Homelessness is down because President Biden funded things that we know work, like housing and support,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, Campaign and Communications Director at the National Homelessness Law Center. “Sadly, the Trump administration is doing everything they can to backtrack on this progress.  Trump’s policies will make housing more expensive and make more people homeless and sick. Donald Trump wants to take us backwards, but most people know the truth: we need housing and support, not handcuffs and detention camps.”

Notably absent from this year’s results is any discussion of gender. Instead of showing how men, women, and trans people are differently impacted by homelessness, the administration made the deliberate decision to erase all mentions of gender. This isn’t just about words; it is about policy. This shift is consistent with Trump’s broader efforts to strip humanity from and scapegoat our homeless and trans neighbors. This administration has made their priorities clear: they are more interested in slow-walking vital data and wasting time removing words that don’t align with narrow views than they are in addressing the dire lack of housing and care for everyone in this country.

Our housing system is broken. Half of renters struggle to pay rent, and one in four worries about becoming homeless. If politicians were serious about solving homelessness, they would address the underlying cause: a housing system that puts profit before people. It’s not a radical belief to know that nobody should live without a home in the richest country in the world.

It doesn’t have to be this way. We have enough money and enough know-how to solve homelessness. It’s beyond time for politicians to use their power to ensure that everybody, regardless of what they look like, where they come from, or who they love, has the housing and support they need to thrive.

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About the National Homelessness Law Center   

The National Homelessness Law Center is committed to protecting the rights of unhoused people across the United States and to advocating for policies that prevent and end homelessness, ensuring that all people have access to safe and adequate housing.