How America is grappling with homelessness

WAMU 88.5 | By Michelle Harven

Published December 20, 2022 at 1:08 PM EST

A homeless person sits with their belongings on the street in Los Angeles, California.

This week, the Biden Administration announced plans to reduce homelessness in the U.S. by 25 percent by 2025.

Los AngelesMayor Karen Bass issued a state of emergency on homelessness as her first act in office. She also announced a program launching next week that will move people off the street and into hotels and motels.

At the same time, New York City Mayor Eric Adams began allowing officials to involuntarily hospitalize people they deemed to be in a psychiatric crisis.

What’s the best way to address unhoused populations? And how exactly does the administration plan to reduce and prevent homelessness? We talk to the head of the federal agency behind the new plan.