Taxpayer Dollars Fuel Ideological Homelessness Advocacy

A new report from the Capital Research Center reveals that American taxpayers are footing a $2.9 billion bill for nonprofits within the “Homeless Industrial Complex,” which often prioritize political activism over practical solutions to homelessness.

The report, titled “Infiltrated: The Ideological Capture of Homelessness Advocacy,” highlights how 759 organizations, with combined revenues of $9.1 billion, backed a 2024 Supreme Court case, Grants Pass v. Johnson, claiming that laws banning sidewalk camping violate the Eighth Amendment.

The Court rejected this argument, but the report argues these groups, heavily reliant on government grants, are more focused on pushing left-wing agendas than addressing the crisis, wasting taxpayer funds in the process.

Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, told The Daily Signal, “Fringe groups in the Homeless Industrial Complex like to characterize homelessness as a symptom of societal injustices, such as systemic racism, police violence, or capitalism. Anyone who disagrees with their tried-and-not-true policy recommendations is called uncompassionate or greedy.” This approach, he argues, diverts resources from direct aid, leaving taxpayers to question the effectiveness of their contributions.

Nonprofits Push Controversial Policies Over Practical Aid

The report points to groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the second-wealthiest nonprofit to sign an amicus brief in the Grants Pass case, with a $700 million endowment.

The SPLC, known for labeling mainstream conservative groups as “hate” organizations, exemplifies the disconnect between genuine service providers and those using taxpayer funds for ideological battles.

When President Trump issued 2025 executive orders to curb urban camping and open drug use, directing the homeless to long-term treatment facilities, SPLC’s Deputy Legal Director Kirsten Anderson criticized the policy as “resurrecting unlawful and outdated approaches to housing that are rooted in racist stereotypes and bias against people with disabilities.” Such rhetoric, the report suggests, undermines efforts to restore public order while misusing taxpayer money.

Nonprofits like the Chief Seattle Club, originally focused on housing solutions, now engage in “housing first” and “harm reduction” advocacy, accepting drug use as inevitable, or “housing justice,” which ties homelessness to broader activist causes like race and transgender ideology.

Groups like the Western Regional Advocacy Project even frame policing as a barrier to housing justice, further diverting focus from practical outcomes.

Radical Ties and Misspent Funds

The report uncovers troubling connections between some nonprofits and extremist movements, including groups that celebrated the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, as well as ties to Black Lives Matter and Antifa.

For instance, Alicia Garza, a Black Lives Matter co-founder, chairs the Right to the City Alliance, which in 2023 posted, “From Palestine to Mexico, all borders and militarized violence have got to go!” The Sunrise Movement, part of the “No Kings” protests, links housing to its Green New Deal and supported the “Stop Cop City” riots in Atlanta.

Walter emphasized to The Daily Signal, “Bad actors in the Homeless Industrial Complex appear to be spending taxpayer dollars on everything but real solutions to America’s homelessness crisis. The Homeless Industrial Complex treats homeless people as pawns in ideological wars. They deserve better.”

With 274,224 Americans living on the streets in January 2024, often grappling with addiction or mental health issues, the report argues that taxpayers deserve accountability from nonprofits that prioritize litigation and lobbying over direct aid, leaving vulnerable communities underserved.