HUD and Other Federal Agencies Launch “Treatment First” Toolkit
By: Steven Molinari, Policy Analyst
August 14, 2026 — This week, HUD along with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the “Best Practices Toolkit: Addressing Homelessness and Addiction Through Treatment First.”
The toolkit aims to emphasize the administration’s move away from the “Housing First” model, noting arguments which state that the model fails to prevent overdoses, increase access to
addiction treatment, or help people establish and sustain self-sufficiency. Instead, the toolkit prioritizes approaches that focus specifically on addressing substance use disorders among people experiencing homelessness.
The toolkit emphasizes a number of recommendations meant to guide state and local policymakers, Continuum of Care providers, funders, and program leaders to address addiction among people experiencing homelessness.
Some recommendations include:
- Prioritizing self-sufficiency;
- Mandating substance-free living spaces;
- Establishing standardized assessments and individualized treatment plans;
- Providing non-financial, socially positive rewards to participants for small and large milestones;
- Offering recovery housing options depending on where participants are in their “recovery process”; and
- Incorporating spiritual support to complement evidence-based treatment.
The toolkit also highlights the administration’s new five-phase approach (Crisis, Stabilization, Treatment, Early Recovery, and Thriving) of addressing homelessness and addiction, and provides recommendations of financing long-term programs.
Below is a chart from the toolkit that provides examples of measures that can be taken at various phases of the “Treatment First” model:
More information can be found in the toolkit here.