A powerful new investigation has exposed how billions of taxpayer dollars and charitable donations meant to fight homelessness are instead being funneled into radical political activism, not real solutions.
According to a new report from the Capital Research Center, America’s so-called “Homeless Industrial Complex” has become a multi-billion-dollar machine that advances left-wing ideology while attacking the very policies that could fix the crisis.
In a statement to The Daily Signal, Scott Walter, president of the Capital Research Center, said:
“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.”
The report, titled “Infiltrated: The Ideological Capture of Homelessness Advocacy,” analyzed 759 organizations that filed amicus briefs in the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024) case, arguing that laws against sidewalk camping amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.”
The Supreme Court ultimately rejected that claim, but the case revealed how many nonprofits designed to help the homeless are now engaged in aggressive political activism that often worsens conditions on the streets.
The watchdog group found the nonprofits collectively hold $9.1 billion in total revenue, including $2.9 billion in taxpayer-funded government grants, which is roughly 32% of their income.
SPLC and Left-Wing Nonprofits Target Trump
One of the largest groups involved was the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a far-left organization notorious for smearing mainstream conservative and Christian groups on its “hate map.”
With an endowment exceeding $700 million, the SPLC was the second-largest nonprofit to file in favor of the Grants Pass lawsuit.
Walter said the SPLC’s involvement “illustrates the disconnect between those charities that provide genuine services to the needy, and those that use their resources to advance a left-wing ideological agenda.”
“When President [Donald] Trump signed a series of commonsensical executive orders in 2025 to protect public safety and address the root causes of homelessness, the SPLC and other allied groups accused him of human rights violations,” Walter said.
Trump’s order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on American Streets,” described how 274,224 people were living on America’s streets on a single night in January 2024, noting that most “are addicted to drugs, have a mental health condition, or both.”
The order directed federal agencies to enforce bans on open drug use, dismantle encampments, and move homeless individuals into “long-term institutional settings for humane treatment.”
SPLC deputy legal director Kristen Anderson accused the president of “resurrecting unlawful and outdated approaches to housing that are rooted in racist stereotypes and bias against people with disabilities.”
Activism Over Aid
The report details how many taxpayer-funded groups, originally created to provide housing, mental health, or addiction recovery services, now spend much of their time on “high-visibility advocacy.”
Rather than focusing on treatment or enforcement, these groups push ideologically driven policies such as “housing first” (which removes sobriety requirements), “harm reduction” (which normalizes drug use), and “housing justice,” a framework that fuses homelessness policy with radical agendas on race, gender, and policing.
Some, such as the Western Regional Advocacy Project, go even further, labeling law enforcement itself as “a structural enemy of housing justice,” according to the report.
Radical and Political Ties
The investigation also uncovered links between the “Homeless Industrial Complex” and extremist movements that have celebrated violence and disorder.
The Right to the City Alliance, chaired by Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, posted in 2023:
“From Palestine to Mexico, all borders and militarized violence have got to go!”
Other groups, such as the Sunrise Movement, which helped organize this month’s George Soros-funded anti-Trump “No Kings” protests, have integrated “universal access to housing” into their Green New Deal proposals and endorsed the violent “Stop Cop City” demonstrations in Atlanta.
“Our research shows that some radical elements of the Homeless Industrial Complex care more about rhetoric than results,” Walter told The Daily Signal.
He warned that policies pushed by these groups “ignore or even encourage the homeless population to continue the abuse of drugs and alcohol.”
“The result is a self-serving cycle that wastes government funding, alienates potential allies in the fight against homelessness, and leaves vulnerable people without the direct services they need,” he said.
Billions Spent, Streets Still Unsafe
Despite their enormous budgets and taxpayer support, many of these organizations continue to oppose policies that would clean up encampments and restore order in U.S. cities.
“Bad actors in the Homeless Industrial Complex appear to be spending taxpayer dollars on everything but real solutions to America’s homelessness crisis,” Walter concluded.
“The Homeless Industrial Complex treats homeless people as pawns in ideological wars.
“They deserve better.”
READ MORE – Expert Sounds Alarm as Global Push to Euthanize Children Intensifies
Our comment section is restricted to members of the Slay News community only.
To join, create a free account HERE.
If you are already a member, log in HERE.