President Trump has the answer to homelessness.
Force the street to clear.
On Thursday, he signed an executive order to deal with “endrious vagrants” and end “crimes and obstacles on our streets.” He called for the use of “civil commitments” to guide people suffering from mental illness or addiction to “humanitarian treatment.”
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a columnist for the Los Angeles Times since 2001. He has won over 12 National Journalism Awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.
This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year, after legalising cities legalizing people to punish people for being homeless, even if they have nowhere to go.
There are some truths about what he says, and records of California’s housing and homelessness are ripe for criticism. I saw too many people suffer from addiction and mental illness and asked why help was so late. But I also know there is no simple answer to either crisis. Also, a bluester is not a replacement for the resources you desperately need.
Like a lot of what Trump does, this is another epic case. In the meantime, the Washington Post reported on Thursday that “the Trump administration is proposing to cut more than $1 billion in Covid-era grants managed by the Department of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, and to cut hundreds of millions more with agency grants.”
Jaimmy Ray Clark, who has been homeless for two months, eats donated food at his makeshift shelter on the sidewalk of Skid Row.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
By chance, I was in the middle of the latest Los Angeles Homeless Count column when Trump’s executive order broke. I spent time listening to two homeless women and their plight, but none of the things Trump suggests approaches addressing their needs.
In other words, they live in poverty and cannot afford a place to live.
“Nearly two-thirds of homeless individuals report using hard drugs,” Trump said in his executive order.
I don’t know where he got those numbers, but truth and accuracy are not characteristic of this administration.
Undoubtedly, addiction and mental illness are important factors and require more intervention.
But it’s more complicated than he thinks, especially given the practical and legal issues surrounding forced treatment. It will not solve the problem.
When the latest homeless count in Los Angeles was released, the slight decline from a year ago was seen by many as a positive sign. But when Jewish family service Eli Wetzer delved into the numbers, he found both surprising and deeply intrusive.
The number of homeless people over the age of 65 had not fallen. It was a surge in both cities and counties in Los Angeles.
“I don’t consider myself a victim. I’m a survivor. I pay the bill. My credit score is 798. All I don’t have is a house.”
– Jane Jeffries, Life Without Life in Santa Monica
Jane Jeffries organizes the appliances and supplies she keeps behind Santa Monica’s car.
“This is nothing new this year, it’s a trend over the past few years,” says Veitzer, whose nonprofit provides clients with meals, housing assistance and a variety of other services. “It makes sense, it’s real and these people are at the highest risk of death while they’re on the street.”
The number of Los Angeles Department of Homeless Services showed a 3.4% decline in the total homeless population in the city, but an increase of 17.6% among those over 65 years of age. County numbers fell 3.99% overall, but increased 8.59% for the group over 65 years old.
The city’s two-year increase has increased from 3,427 in 2023 to 4,680 this year. This increased by 37%.
Trustworthy research shows that among older adults who become homeless, the main reason is not a mental illness or addiction, but a combination of poverty and high housing costs.
Photo of a homeless woman walking past a line of tents in a skid line in downtown Los Angeles in March 2025.
“They or their spouse have lost their jobs, they or their spouse have become ill, their marriage has been dissolved, or their spouse or parent has died,” Dr. Margot Kuchell, of the UC San Francisco Homelessness and Housing Initiative, told me hours before Trump’s executive order was issued.
A groundbreaking study of her team released two years ago (and covered by my colleague Anita Chhabria) found that nearly half of the state’s homeless residents were over 50 years old, and participants in the study reported a median monthly household income of $960.
“The outcome… we make sure that too many Californians are experiencing homelessness because they can’t afford a home,” Kushel said at the time.
Among the elderly, the homeless jump comes from the backdrop of federal and local budget cuts that make it difficult to reverse the trend, Veitzer said. And it’s more difficult for nonprofits that rely on some to public funds to continue providing group meals, homemade meals, transportation, social services and housing support.
“All the providers I’ve talked about in LA is to cut off the meal program,” Veitzer says. “We need to close two of our 13 dining sites. Last year we closed three. We used to be 16, but now we’re 11.”
Jane Jeffries is placed in her car and lifts her legs to reduce the swelling of Santa Monica’s legs. Jeffries has been homeless in her car since February this year.
On Wednesday, I went to one of the sites still operating on Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of 405, and met 69-year-old Jane Jeffries. She is now sleeping, pulling into a safe parking lot every night.
Jeffries said she raises about $1,400 a month on Social Security. At the senior center, she can use her equipment to create buttons for sale on the Venice Boardwalk, where she can earn up to $200 on a good weekend.
But that’s not yet enough to cover the costs of the housing, she told me, and she’s giving up government help.
“All funds have been cut. I don’t know if it’s because a lot of the city and state funding is federally subsidized. We all know that Trump hates California,” she said.
As Veitzer said, “There are no areas in LA County close to high-income housing that are sufficiently low-income, and the waiting list is open regularly,” with far more applicants than the housing unit. “And they close.”
Banshee Davis gives her dog, heart, kiss.
His agency will serve daily meals to 73-year-old Banshee Davis, who lives in a van at Penmer Park, Venice. Her neighbor is her son, Thomas Williamson, 51, who lives in his car.
When I arrived, Davis was in the front seat of the van, hugging her dog, her heart. Her left leg was amputated under the knee two years ago due to an infection, she said.
Davis said she and another son lived in the Oregon trailer, but the owner stopped the utility and changed the lock. She said she reached out to Williamson. Williamson said, “I have a van for you, so you have a place to live, but it would be rough. It’s very, very rough.”
I’ve heard many variations like this over the years, but I lost the count.
The size of the existence of the wealthiest countries in history is dishonorable, and it is a sad commentary on the economic system and public policy that helped to widen the gap in inequality rather than narrow it.
Banshee Davis speaks to his son, Tom Williamson. Tom Williamson lives homeless in cars parked next to each other in Venice.
Trump’s executive order on homelessness grabbed headlines on Thursday, but he doesn’t do anything to Jane Jeffries, Banshee Davis, and thousands of people like them. According to Kushel, we know of interventions that work, but by cutting back on work, we are moving in the wrong direction.
Davis’ son Thomas spoke to Times photographer Genaro Molina about another person who lives in the car and is a neighbor in the parking lot.
She wasn’t there on Wednesday, but we’ll go back and check.
I’m a 91 year old woman.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
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