But the response unfolding across Republican states right now isn’t to expand housing or services. The message is clear: we’re moving from treating homelessness as a housing crisis to treating it as a crime problem. HUD’s 2026 budget cut available funds for permanent supportive housing from about 3 billion dollars in 2024 to 2.4 billion dollars, while shifting 1.3 billion dollars to temporary, transitional housing programs. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has warned that this reallocation could push roughly 97,000 people out of permanent supportive housing. Shaina Bessonet, a dental hygienist in Louisiana who experienced homelessness from January 2022 to March 2026, testified against HB 211, saying simply, “It’s not fixing the problem, it’s making it worse.”