Trump Administration Restores Support for Faith-Based Homelessness Programs After Biden-Era Restrictions

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared in Los Angeles on Tuesday to announce the Trump administration’s latest push to overhaul the state’s response to the homelessness crisis.

California has long struggled with homelessness, and recent scandals involving taxpayer dollars flowing to troubled nonprofits have intensified scrutiny. The Trump administration announced in June that it would cut off federal funding to Los Angeles.

At a press conference held at the Dream Center, a faith-based nonprofit, Turner told the Daily Signal the administration wants to see actual results—people getting off the streets and receiving treatment.

“What we’re looking for is, we’re looking for the Dream Center and places like the Dream Center that are results-oriented, that have a true continuum of care. The Dream Center does not receive funding that’s passed by the Senate. It’s [funded] by friends, family, churches, private people,” Turner said. “What we’re looking for is what you see here, to bring someone in. Bring them in, house them, put the ax to the root.”

He added, “What is the problem? Why are they homeless? [It is] drug addiction, mental illness. To treat that and then get them healed and transform that to a life of self-sufficiency, that’s what we’re looking for. It’s a new paradigm. … It’s not just housing—it’s not housing first.”

Both Turner and Kennedy emphasized that places like the Dream Center are faith-based nonprofits. During his remarks, Kennedy highlighted that under the Biden administration, former HHS Secretary and current Democratic California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra refused to fund faith-based organizations.

That approach has shifted under the Trump administration. Kennedy said faith-based groups like the Dream Center are now prioritized by HUD and HHS because of their results.

“During the Biden administration, the White House made the decision that my agency and Scott’s agency could no longer give money to faith-based organizations. I’m told the states also cut off funding to faith-based organizations, and that was downgraded during the COVID crisis,” Kennedy Jr. said. “All the government officials in Los Angeles, including Adam Schiff across the state, were telling people to go to the Dream Center to get meals. The meal burden here went from 1,000 meals a day to 10,000, because there was no place else for people to go.” 

“When they went to the government agencies, my agency, and asked for support, my agency told them, ‘We can’t help you because you’re a faith-based organization.’ It made no sense,” he added. “And we have now changed that and put faith-based organizations front and center, because they’re doing it better than the government can do. They’re doing it at one-tenth the price that we’re paying.”

Homelessness in the state rose significantly under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration, climbing from an estimated 151,000 people in 2019 to 181,934 in 2025, according to HUD’s latest annual report. Los Angeles’ homeless population also increased this year, with the county’s unsheltered count rising 3.3% and the city’s unsheltered count rising 7.9%, according to data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA).

In addition to the rising numbers, officials including Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have promoted a “Housing First” strategy that focuses primarily on moving people off the streets and into taxpayer-funded housing. Yet with an estimated $1 billion spent efforts such as Project Homekey, the city has either stalled on finishing units intended for homeless residents or seen some of those units damaged by occupants struggling with mental illness or addiction.

While the state has spent upwards of $26 billion on the homelessness crisis, questions about where the money is going continue to grow.

“Year after year, hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars were funneled to LAHSA with little accountability and zero results,” Turner said during the press conference. “The LA Continuum of Care led by LAHSA had received $1 billion in taxpayer dollars over the last five years—that’s $1 billion over the last five years with no accountability and zero results. And despite receiving more federal homelessness funding than any other jurisdiction in our nation, LA remains the epicenter of the nation’s drug-fueled homelessness crisis.”

“During that same decade, the homelessness in LA doubled. HUD funding to LA nearly tripled. How many know that’s a problem? … We’ve got to run a new play. That play is not working.”

Crackdowns on Los Angeles nonprofits and their CEOs that received taxpayer dollars through LAHSA have also come from First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.

In January, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of South Los Angeles charity executive Alexander Soofer, charging him with fraudulently obtaining $23 million in taxpayer funds intended to combat homelessness while allegedly pocketing $10 million for himself. 

Additionally, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday that a Southern California nonprofit running domestic violence shelters paid its longtime chief executive, Carol Adelkoff, more than $1.6 million in salary and vacation pay over two years, even though she lived in Hawaii.

With funding to LAHSA halted, the agency has sued the Trump administration over roughly $240 million now in limbo.

A federal judge’s ruling on Friday struck down HUD’s attempt to shift federal funding away from permanent housing. As a result, HUD will have to issue new guidelines for its annual homelessness grant competition, a decision that could affect LAHSA.

The freeze on LAHSA funding and the push for faith-based, results-driven programs mark a clear break from the housing-first model that has dominated California for years. For now, hundreds of millions remain in limbo while the administration insists taxpayer money will only follow programs that get people off the streets and into recovery.

“Under the leadership of President Trump and Vice President Vance, we are rooting out corruption and ensuring that those who need care are truly going to get it. The days of funding corrupt failure are over. The Trump administration will not fund a homeless industrial complex any longer,” Turner said. 

“At HUD, we’re only interested in real results,” he continued. “And that’s actually helping our fellow Americans get off the streets, out of addiction, and on the path to self-sufficiency.”