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Homeless Hunger Games: Shelters, Soundbites, and a Sector at Breaking Point

Homeless Hunger Games: Shelters, Soundbites, and a Sector at Breaking Point

Update: 2025-09-13

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The homeless services system is cracking under pressure. In this candid conversation with Iain De Jong, we unpack how the pandemic showed the sector at its best, nimble and innovative, but left behind burnout and lost staff. Since then, the housing market has shifted, rents have skyrocketed, and the Grants Pass decision has fueled a dangerous push toward criminalization.

Politicians are demanding more shelters instead of real housing, resources are scarce, and nonprofits are competing like it’s the Hunger Games. Meanwhile, HUD is leaning on faith-based providers, raising serious concerns about coercion over care.

We get real about recycled soundbites, harmful media coverage, and the sector’s lack of innovation. But this isn’t just doom and gloom, we talk about solutions: distinguishing first-time vs. chronic homelessness, funding housing instead of optics, and building authentic narratives that the public can believe in.

It’s raw, uncomfortable, and necessary — the kind of conversation everyone in the sector needs to hear.

For part one of this conversation, check out: The Screwed Scale: Why We’re at 9.7 Out of 10

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Homeless Hunger Games: Shelters, Soundbites, and a Sector at Breaking Point

Homeless Hunger Games: Shelters, Soundbites, and a Sector at Breaking Point

Invisible People