Maura Healey is the governor of Massachusetts. Jon Santiago is the Massachusetts secretary of veterans services.
David served his country proudly in uniform until an injury changed his life. Addicted to pain medications that led to heroin use, he faced additional mental health challenges. He was searching for hope when he found it in the form of a voucher from the Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program. No judgment, no red tape — just keys to restart his life. With stable housing, he was able to reconnect with treatment at the VA, find a job, and begin rebuilding a life he had nearly given up on.
David’s story is not unique. It is one of thousands across Massachusetts and the nation that prove a simple truth: Housing is health care, the foundation for recovery, stability, and dignity. Evidence shows that when veterans have a safe place to live, they are far more likely to access mental health care, recover from substance use disorders, and find stable employment.
The “Housing First” model — securing permanent housing without preconditions, then wrapping veterans in services they need — has been a cornerstone of US veteran policy for more than a decade. Since 2010, it has helped cut veteran homelessness nationally by more than half, and in David’s case, it saved his life.
But President Trump and his advisers are preparing to dismantle this model, according to a recent executive order. A New York Times article, “Trump’s Get-Tough Approach on Homelessness May Sweep Up Veterans,” highlights the potential harms. They want to roll back housing-first programs like HUD-VASH that have been central to reducing veteran homelessness, replacing them with more rigid, treatment-first requirements that will undo the VA’s success.
If they succeed, stories like David’s will become rare. More veterans will be left on the streets, facing impossible barriers to housing and the deadly convergence of homelessness, addiction, mental illness, and suicide.
This reversal isn’t just wrong — it defies the evidence. Studies consistently show that veterans placed in Housing First programs are more likely to remain housed and less likely to cycle back into homelessness than those subjected to treatment-first conditions. Housing First is not housing only. It combines stability with case management, counseling, and health care. But by recognizing that housing is foundational — not conditional — it has proven to be the most effective and cost-efficient way to end homelessness.
The Trump administration’s attempt to discredit this model also flies in the face of bipartisan consensus and even its own past actions. The previous Trump administration tried to dismantle the program but reversed course after significant pushback from the veteran community and elected officials. What has changed is not the data but the politics. And the cost of this reversal will be borne by the men and women who wore this nation’s uniform.
Here in Massachusetts, we know what works because we have seen it firsthand. We have made Housing First the cornerstone of our approach to veteran services, and it is paying off. Under our Ending Veteran Homelessness initiative, we have invested in supportive housing units, coordinated outreach to ensure no veteran falls through the cracks, and worked in close partnership with federal programs like HUD-VASH.
The results speak for themselves. Almost 1,000 veterans have been placed in housing in less than 18 months; unsheltered veteran homelessness in Massachusetts has fallen 27 percent this past year, even as overall homelessness has risen nationwide; and over the past year, more than 10,000 veterans received support from veterans service organizations, from behavioral health to food assistance to transportation services.
These are not abstract numbers. They represent veterans who now sleep in their own beds, receive the care they need, and contribute to their communities once again.
Our EVH initiative doubles down on what has worked: aligning housing authorities, local providers, and veteran service organizations to act quickly and collaboratively. When a veteran falls into homelessness in Massachusetts, our system is designed to respond immediately with outreach, temporary shelter if needed, and rapid placement into stable housing. Only then can treatment and recovery truly take hold.
We’re proud of this progress but won’t rest until veteran homelessness in Massachusetts is history. That will take sustained commitment, new investments, and continued partnership with Washington. But it will not happen if federal leaders abandon the very model that has brought us this far.
Veterans kept their promise to serve this country. We intend to keep ours by ensuring every one of them has a place to call home. The choice before us could not be clearer. On one side is an evidence-based strategy that has lifted thousands of veterans off the streets and into permanent housing. On the other is a politically driven reversal that would undo that progress, forcing more veterans into homeless shelters, encampments, or worse.
Massachusetts will continue to lead the way. We will stand with our veterans, defend Housing First, and prove that with the right strategy, ending veteran homelessness is not just possible — it is within our reach. Washington should follow that example, not turn its back on it.
