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Trump's Executive Order Attacking Veterans and Others

By Aimee Potter

As a VA social worker and harm reductionist, I work with Veterans who struggle with substance use, addressing opioid overdose in the context of any positive change and applying the same principles to reduce sexually transmitted diseases, including treatment access for Hepatitis C. Since I have started in this position—under the Biden administration in November of 2023, I have worked with over 500 Veterans who have been referred to me, interested in some form of reduction of substance use, or access to safer sex methods, and fentanyl and Xylazine test strips to prevent overdose. Trump's most recent executive order, "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets," attacks Veterans, individuals with disabilities, the homeless, and folks struggling with substance use disorders.

This most recent executive order claims, "Endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe. The number of individuals living on the streets in the United States on a single night during the last year of the previous administration—274,224—was the highest ever recorded."

Let Mr. Trump tell the truth, particularly in the context of his data. Actually, "On a single night in January 2024," according to the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report completed by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, 771,480 people experienced homelessness in the United States, which is the largest number since data collection began and an overall increase of 19 percent since 2007. Compared with 2007, 124,222 more people experienced homelessness in 2024. Between 2023 and 2024, the increase of 118,376 people was largely driven by an increase in the sheltered population, which rose by 25 percent (100,762 more people). The number of people experiencing sheltered homelessness in 2024 was larger than the pre-pandemic sheltered population.

Two-thirds of all people experiencing homelessness in 2024 were in households without children (i.e., individuals). Several factors likely contributed to this historically high number. Our worsening national affordable housing crisis, rising inflation, stagnating wages among middle- and lower-income households, and the persisting effects of systemic racism have stretched homelessness services systems to their limits. Additional public health crises, natural disasters that displaced people from their homes, rising numbers of people immigrating to the US, and the end of homelessness prevention programs put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, including the end of the expanded child tax credit, have exacerbated this already stressed system.

Nearly all populations reached record levels. Homelessness among people in families with children, individuals, individuals with chronic patterns of homelessness, people staying in unsheltered locations, people staying in sheltered locations, and unaccompanied youth all reached the highest recorded numbers in 2024.

People in families with children had the largest single-year increase in homelessness. Between 2023 and 2024, 39 percent more people in families with children experienced homelessness. Overall, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 18 percent. Nearly 150,000 children experienced homelessness on a single night in 2024, reflecting a 33 percent increase (or 32,618 more children) over 2023. Between 2023 and 2024, children (under the age of 18) were the age group that experienced the largest increase in homelessness.

Veterans were the only population to report continued declines in homelessness. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness declined by eight percent, or 2,692 fewer veterans. The number of veterans experiencing homelessness has declined by 55 percent since data collection about veteran homelessness began in 2009. The declines in sheltered and unsheltered experiences of homelessness were similar (56% and 54%). These declines are the result of targeted and sustained funding to reduce veteran homelessness. So let Trump tell the narrative, which is not supported by this data, because homelessness among Veterans has declined significantly and persistently, because of the dedication of VA housing programs, dedicated and committed staff—social workers, nurses, program staff, psychologists, and the managers of these programs, committed to improving the lives of Veterans and their families.

"About one in every five people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 was age 55 or older. More than 104,000 people experiencing homelessness were aged 55 to 64, and just over 42,150 people were over age 64. Nearly half of adults aged 55 or older (46%) were experiencing unsheltered homelessness in places not meant for human habitation.

People who identify as Black, African American, or African continue to be overrepresented among the population experiencing homelessness. People who identify as Black made up just 12 percent of the total US population and 21 percent of the US population living in poverty, but were 32 percent of all people experiencing homelessness. However, the share of people experiencing homelessness who identify as Black (of any ethnicity) decreased from 37 percent of all people experiencing homelessness in 2023. (https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2024-AHAR-Part-1.pdf)

Trump et al claim "The Federal Government and the States have spent tens of billions of dollars on failed programs that address homelessness but not its root causes, leaving other citizens vulnerable to public safety threats." According to this data, and as a provider working on the front lines, these programs are not failures. They are impactful, sustainable, provide cost savings by housing people rather than institutionalizing them, provide improved health outcomes, and are effective. Housing First and harm reduction save lives. This is not an opinion. It is a fact.

In Illinois alone, we have corrected the wrongs of institutionalizing people with disabilities, under the Colbert and Williams consent decree, recognizing that people who were residing in nursing homes could actually live in the community, and institutionalizing them was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Through this settlement and ongoing Consent Decree, the State agreed to provide support and services to help individuals move to and live in the community, in the most integrated setting that meets their needs. As a social worker in the community, I liberated many individuals with disabilities from nursing homes and into their homes. Many still live in their own homes and thrive without accessing the excessive resources and spending nursing home living costs.

The narrative of shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order is both inhumane, illegal, and unsupported by the research and efficacy of the above consent decrees.

Now is the time for Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins to show true leadership—not as a spokesperson for a political administration but as a steadfast advocate for veterans.

The executive order undermining "housing first" principles is a dangerous step backward. It ignores years of evidence-based practice and the tireless work of VA staff and community providers who have helped significantly reduce the homelessness of veterans. To deny those accomplishments is not just disingenuous—it's also deeply irresponsible.

"Housing first" is grounded in five well-established principles:
•Immediate access to permanent housing without preconditions.
•Choice and self-determination.
•A recovery-oriented approach.
•Individualized, client-driven support. •Social and community integration.

This model does not require people to be "housing ready." It recognizes that safe, stable housing is the foundation from which individuals can address mental health, substance use, employment, and other challenges. It works—and it saves lives.

Harm reduction is an essential part of this model. It recognizes that people make change incrementally and that punitive approaches only increase isolation and dishonesty. When we create systems based on dignity, respect, and personal agency, people engage. Veterans heal.

Recently, Secretary Collins and the Trump Administration ended collective bargaining for over 400,000 federal employees, paving the way for further privatization of the VA. With 30% of VA employees being Veterans, the impact of unfair treatment in the workplace is guaranteed to skyrocket. Collins claims "the move will improve Veterans care and allow managers to make the best staffing decisions." The decision is a step toward eliminating tens of thousands of jobs at the agency, creating the justification for terminations and a workaround RIFs and further privatization, as this administration claims Veterans will be unable to be served due to terminations and loss of staffing, paving the way for community care and the decimation of the VA altogether. Our collective bargaining agreement protects workers from unsafe working conditions, provides grievance procedures, outlines personnel policies, and offers other worker protections.

While powerful figures can navigate hardship from the comfort of their own homes, the poor are too often expected to suffer in silence, behind institutional walls and under strict controls. This is not justice. It is not health care. And it is not policy-based on evidence.

Collins and others in leadership must take a stand. If they truly support veterans, they must reject policies that abandon harm reduction and "housing first." The time for passive complicity is over. Real leadership means protecting what works—even when it's politically inconvenient.

Aimee Potter is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and AFGE steward, Local 789.

Aimee Potter speaks on Memorial Day, May 26, 2025, Chicago.