A Spokane native now overseeing much of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development across the Northwest says the Housing First model is failing American taxpayers.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on the tail end of July, rebuking the approach as his team brought HUD Regional Administrator Chris Patterson back into the fold. Patterson, who oversaw Region 9 during his first term, now leads Region 10, including Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
Trump’s directive criticized the Housing First model for ignoring behavioral accountability and failing to reduce homelessness. It ushers in a wave of new HUD guidelines that hinge on treatment-first models to prioritize federal funding for jurisdictions that give up low-barrier programs to bolster enforcement.
Spokane relies heavily on Housing First, which supporters say is evidence-based, as business owners and many residents argue it’s led to hundreds of people dying on the streets. If the city doesn’t adjust course, it may miss out on HUD funding in the future, but also other federal grants, Patterson said.
“Grants will be prioritized and will support states and municipalities that ‘actively and to the maximum extent permitted by law prohibit urban camping,’” Patterson told The Center Square, referencing the recent executive order. “That action is not limited to housing or homelessness grants from the federal government, but also [Department of Justice] and [Department of Health & Human Services] grants.”
The Spokane City Council recently passed a new citywide camping ban proposed by Mayor Lisa Brown after the Washington Supreme Court struck down another voter-approved version. The old one, which nearly 75% of voters supported, prohibited camping within 1,000 feet of schools, parks and daycares.
The court provided an opportunity for the council to reinstate it, but the progressive majority declined to support attempts from their conservative peers. While the new ban applies citywide, some criticized it as lackluster, as several provisions allow people to avoid enforcement if they move down the street.
When asked if Spokane may miss out on HUD funding if it continued to sideline enforcement tools like the voter-approved camping ban, Patterson said municipalities need to adopt every means necessary.
“Every city or county that isn’t using all the appropriate tools to get people off the streets and into the services they need to regain health and independence risks missing out on federal funding,” Patterson told The Center Square. “These are working Americans’ taxpayer dollars; they deserve results.”
He said Trump’s order shifts the focus to providers that deliver outcomes, which requires measurable reductions in encampments, unsheltered homelessness and long-term self-sufficiency. He advocated for more programs that center on accountability for the “social rule of law” for each and every person.
“Success is no longer being measured by the number of housing units filled,” Patterson said.
Barry Barfield, administrator of the Spokane Homeless Coalition, which includes more than 1,500 individuals from more than 200 “agencies, meal sites, churches and ministries,” wants to hear the taxpayers’ input.
The regional jail doesn’t house individuals on misdemeanor camping violations unless they have other outstanding warrants. Even then, the facility regularly enters a red-light status, so those facing minor charges are often booked and released, creating a costly cycle that local taxpayers foot the bill for.
Barfield suggested a tiered system, one with low-barrier shelters at the bottom where the individual faces more accountability as they move through the system and into stable housing. If the city put more funding behind case management, he thinks it could help hold individuals to higher standards.
“I think the vast majority of voters would say yes,” Barfield told The Center Square. “They would balk probably at what it would cost, because there is cost involved there, but that’s where the voters have to decide: Do we want people sleeping on the streets, in our parks and neighborhoods and downtown, or are we willing to either pay more or shift our priorities in our taxes to get that?”
Spokane has grappled with budget deficits for the last few years and faces another $13.4 million hole ahead of 2026. Despite this, the city maintains some of the nicest parks in the state, largely because the city charter requires the mayor and council to devote a certain percentage of all spending to that.
The Spokane Business Association recently proposed a charter amendment to do exactly that, putting at least 5% of the general fund behind increased enforcement, treatment and shelters. SBA identified a way to do it without raising taxes, too. Barfield said something like that could bring community input into the budget process, much like former Mayor Jim West did when balancing the budget in 2005.
“He balanced the budget mostly by cutting, and it was based totally on a very robust citizen-involved public debate,” Barfield told The Center Square. “A good household will sit down at the dining room table and bang it out and say, ‘What do we need? What do we don’t need?’”
Barfield recognized a portion of the homeless population will always refuse treatment, and suggested it’s time for the state to improve the involuntary detention system. If the Legislature figured that out, it could help reduce the costs associated with repeatedly arresting the same person without change.
He noted that for Housing First to be successful, it must also include robust treatment services, which isn’t always the case. Some areas focus on one side more than the other. Barfield called practices that stick people with mental illnesses or addiction in an apartment without treatment “housing only.”
“[SBA’s] charter amendment is trying to get enforcement coupled with robust services,” Barfield told The Center Square. “People are going to balk at it like, ‘well, it’s going to cost too much.’ Well, OK, all right, then we leave people down on the street, you know, pooping and peeing in doorways.”
Barfield emphasized that taxpayers now have a chance to reclaim control over how their dollars are spent on homelessness. HUD’s guidelines could impact funding, so he says it’s time for residents to prioritize what type of response they want to pay for.
