Trump’s homelessness policy and santa monica
On Jan. 20, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as president of the United States, bringing significant changes to federal homelessness policies that could significantly impact communities like Santa Monica. Current policies, including rental assistance programs, housing vouchers and supportive housing initiatives set into place by the Biden administration, have aimed to provide temporary and permanent solutions for unhoused individuals. With these policies in place, the west side of Los Angeles County (including Santa Monica) saw a nearly 20 percent decrease in the total population of people experiencing homelessness, according to the Santa Monica Government.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), conducted a homeless count across Los Angeles in 2024 revealing a 6 percent decrease in Santa Monica with 826 people experiencing homelessness in 2023 and 774 in 2024. Santa Monica has implemented many new programs to address the issue of homelessness, including partnerships with the Los Angeles County Pathway Home program, which transitions individuals into interim housing. Along with this, the opening of The Laurel, a permanent supportive housing development, has provided a home and services to 57 formerly homeless residents. Santa Monica also supports nine outreach teams, offers 24/7 shelter referral services through first responders and has launched initiatives like the STEP Court program, which helps participants access housing and treatment. A citywide Homelessness Strategic Plan is in development and will be presented to the City Council in the new year.
Trump's proposed policies emphasize more punitive approaches, including complete clearance of “tent cities”, and possibly ending the “housing first” model, which prioritizes providing shelter without preconditions. In Los Angeles and Santa Monica, local leaders like Mayor Karen Bass and Senator Ben Allen have worked to address homelessness with state funding and initiatives such as Project Homekey, which converts hotels and motels into housing. While Trump has previously criticized California's homelessness strategies as failures, advocates worry his administration's proposals could lead to reduced federal funding for such programs, potentially exacerbating challenges faced by unhoused individuals living in California. The added lack of confirmation from Trump on his plans for the homeless could leave homeless experts, advocates and people within the community at risk of significant change without warning.
Kamila Soto (’26) is the president of the Food on Foot Club which is partnered with an already-existing organization [also called Food on Foot]. This club and organization supports the homeless population by supplying them with essential supplies such as food, water, toiletries and clothes. Soto believes that aggressive and more punitive approaches to dealing with homelessness are often more harmful than helpful.
“I think more aggressive attempts to remove homeless people, especially in densely populated homeless areas like Skid Row, is a very ineffective way to deal with the issue because they're just going to come back. I know a lot of places that are very populated with homeless people and people will try to clear it out and ‘clean the street’ but then the next day, people will be back there setting up their things” Soto said. “So I just think the idea of going around the city and ‘cleaning the streets of homeless people’, is just not going to work and I think federal workers need to help the homeless population rather than just trying to throw them out.”
Arthemen Shakibaeian (’26), a Samo student who is passionate about the homelessness issue, has a different perspective, believing the homelessness crisis requires a tougher approach in order to make a difference on the streets.
“The cops don't really care about it, they just go past them even though they see that homelessness could be dangerous to people. They could be high and acting aggressively against people but the police don't necessarily take action towards it. Trump definitely has the possibility to change it, if he cares enough about it, he could change the most populated areas like LA. ” Shakibaeian said. “People that are always aggressive and using drugs every day should go to prison or a mental hospital and if they can't get the issue fixed, they should stay there”