Protect Housing First and Oppose Criminalizing Homelessness

Fining people for sleeping outside does not house them, while Denver's randomized Housing First trial kept 86% of participants housed and cut their arrests 40%.

A letter to your members of Congress. Facts checked September 24, 2026.

The explainer behind this letter Homelessness Criminalization Laws that punish sleeping outside, and what reduces homelessness

The Letter

Subject Protect Housing First and Oppose Criminalizing Homelessness

Putting people in jail for sleeping outside does not give them a home. It gives them a fine they cannot pay and a record that makes the next apartment and the next job harder to get.

We know what works better. In Denver's randomized trial, 86 percent of people offered supportive housing were still housed after a year, and their arrests fell 40 percent compared with people who got the usual services. Housing First gives people a stable place to live first and then offers help with treatment and work.

Federal policy is now pushing the other way, steering HUD homelessness grants toward cities that enforce camping bans. The funding bills Congress writes this year decide which approach our local agencies can pay for.

Please protect Housing First funding and oppose any rule that ties homelessness grants to camping-ban enforcement.

Send Your Letter

Resistbot

Copy the letter above and fax, email, or mail it to your state or federal representatives.

Text RESIST to 50409 to get started

Send via Resistbot

Democracy.io

Copy the letter above and email it to your House and Senate members.

Free tool from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Federal officials only.

Send via Democracy.io

Call Your Representative

U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121

I'm calling to ask the Representative to protect Housing First funding and oppose tying HUD homelessness grants to camping-ban enforcement.
In Denver's randomized trial, 86 percent of people offered supportive housing stayed housed after a year, and their arrests fell 40 percent.
Fining people for sleeping outside gives them a record, not a home.
Please protect Housing First in this year's funding bills.

Calls get logged by topic. Volume drives the briefing.

The Facts Behind the Ask

745,652 people homeless on a single night in January 2025, down 3% from the 2024 record (source)
11 states that passed statewide homeless camping bans in the last four years, per the National Homelessness Law Center (source)
86% of people in Denver's randomized Housing First trial still housed after one year, with 40% fewer arrests (source)

See every letter you can send