September 9, 2026
Last month we saw the launch of the “Treatment First” toolkit to address homelessness and addiction, released as a joint effort from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Department of Housing & Urban Development. Entitled “Addressing Homelessness and Addiction Through Treatment First,” this publication provides communities with strategies to help Americans transition from homelessness and addiction to recovery and self-sufficiency. The Trump administration does not favor the current “Housing First” model and lays out this document as an alternative approach. The administration stressed in the document that it opposed providing access to housing on an unconditional basis, citing one study that showed veterans in a supportive housing group were more likely to die of a drug overdose. Abstinence, too, was a primary goal, though the toolkit made clear that relapse should be treated as a setback but not necessarily a failure, and that recovery is not necessarily linear.
Faces & Voices was pleased to see the concept of recovery play a prominent role in the document. It is mentioned close to 200 times. Yet while the documents shuns the concept of “housing first” and favors an approach of “treatment first,” we in the recovery community are aware that stable housing is a major factor in recovery. With this in mind, we hope to work with the administration to emphasize that treatment and secure housing must go hand in hand, and neither need to be placed “first” in front of the other.
The toolkit places a heavy emphasis on abstinence from drugs and alcohol as necessary for recovery, an approach the toolkit breaks down outcome measures into five “phases:” crisis, stabilization, treatment, early recovery, and thriving. “Early recovery” is defined as “12 months of abstinence from impairing, addictive drugs; Remains active in the recovery community or engages with supports that promote abstinence and recovery” and “thriving” is defined as 18 months to 5+ years of abstinence from impairing, addictive drugs; Knowledgeable about treatment and recovery supports in the community, and actively participates in the recovery community.” While of course we endorse active participation in recovery communities, these definitions seem a bit simplistic and convenient, and we hope the administration will allow us to work with them to broaden their scope.
There has been some criticism of the tool kit, as faith-based programs are featured heavily. However, the document lists contingency management, or the practice of offering financial incentives to people who reduce their drug use or stop altogether, as a favored strategy. While the strategy is aligned with current evidence, STAT news observed that many contingency management providers feared it would prove ideologically incompatible with the new administration.
While this toolkit is a new resource, we understand that it will not be effective without continued advocacy. The resources mentioned in it that we endorse must be well-funded, and we must assure they continue to be a high priority for the administration. We will use this document to boost our advocacy efforts next year as we request that congress appropriate the necessary funds in order to make true progress.
The toolkit can be found here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Best-Practices-Toolkit_FINALv2.pdf