Can't arrest our way out of public suffering
Friend,
We are deeply alarmed by President Trump’s recent executive order threatening to withhold federal funding from cities that don’t aggressively ticket and arrest people experiencing homelessness. The order frames drug use as the cause of homelessness and promotes forced treatment, civil commitment, and other coercive responses—none of which address the root causes or offer real solutions.
This is not policy rooted in care or evidence. It’s an attack on people whose only “crime” is being unable to afford a place to live or access the mental healthcare they need. President Trump isn’t proposing to house people—he’s proposing to jail them. His plan would funnel people into prisons or government-run detention centers, not into permanent housing or support.
And it comes on the heels of the Trump administration’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” becoming law and other harmful actions that pour billions into enforcement and incarceration—while slashing funding for Medicaid, housing, healthcare, and mental health services, lifelines that millions of Americans rely on to survive.
Let’s be clear: our nation’s housing crisis is real. More people are living on the streets today than at any point in recent history. That’s not because they’ve failed—it’s because housing costs are skyrocketing, wages are too low, and the social safety net is being dismantled.
And when people are suffering, some turn to drugs to cope or survive. On the street, some use stimulants to stay awake for safety, or use substances like opioids to numb pain. The answer to their suffering isn’t punishment—it’s care.
We all want fewer overdoses, safer streets, and neighborhoods where children can play freely. But we must ask: how do we actually get there?
If we’re serious about solutions, we must invest in what works—accessible treatment, stable housing, mental healthcare, and real community-based support. These are the investments that save lives and build strong, thriving communities.
Yet President Trump’s approach is more arrests, more jail time, and more crackdowns. But if punishment worked, wouldn’t it have worked by now?
For decades, the U.S. has tried to arrest its way out of the drug and overdose crisis. The result? Nearly one million lives lost to overdose. Families devastated. People stuck in a cycle of going to jail and right back to the street, without real help.
At the Drug Policy Alliance, we are fighting for real solutions—because we are serious about saving lives. Continue to stand with us in rejecting this punishment-first agenda and demanding policies rooted in care, connection, and dignity.
In solidarity,
Kassandra Frederique
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance
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