Colorado’s mayors, philanthropic leaders and politicians at various levels have the opportunity to address the state’s escalating homelessness crisis by leveraging President Donald Trump’s executive order last week, titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”

The president’s directive empowers cities and states to clear homeless encampments and prioritize treatment for addiction and mental health issues, offering federal funding to support these efforts. Colorado, with its disproportionately high number of homeless and unsheltered individuals, must act decisively to utilize this framework to restore public safety and provide meaningful, compassionate help to those in need.

The executive order redirects federal resources to states and localities that enforce bans on public camping, open drug use, and loitering while prioritizing programs requiring sobriety and treatment over the proven failure of the “housing first” model.

It instructs agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development to allocate grants to communities that align with these goals, including support for involuntary civil commitment for individuals posing risks to themselves or others.

This funding shift incentivizes evidence-based treatment programs and ensures resources are not squandered on ineffective measures such as “harm reduction” or drug injection sites, which the order explicitly defunds.

Colorado’s homelessness dilemma demands urgent action. By any measure, Colorado’s homeless population is disproportionately high. A study by the Common Sense Institute ranks Colorado’s homeless problem among the 10 worst among states.

This disproportionate burden — driven by high housing costs, a 30% increase in fentanyl-related overdoses since 2020 and limited mental health infrastructure — underscores why Colorado stands to disproportionately benefit from Trump’s order.

The order’s treatment emphasis aligns with the sad fact that homelessness intertwines with drug and alcohol abuse and/or mental illness. Colorado’s notorious dearth of psychiatric facilities exacerbates the problem by leaving most of the state’s homeless population without care. Trump’s directive offers a lifeline by prioritizing federal grants for expanding treatment centers and mental health courts, enabling Colorado to build capacity for long-term care rather than temporary shelters.

Critics, including the National Homelessness Law Center, say the order risks criminalizing homelessness and undermining civil rights. Yet, open drug use and park hopping in violation of anti-camping laws do not comprise an exercise of civil rights.

Nothing in the Bill of Rights, or any part of the Constitution, allows individuals to convert public property into private residences defined by tents, boxes and shanties. If this were a civil right, developers could build subdivisions in national parks without permission.

Trump’s order will fund “treatment first” approaches to homelessness, as opposed to programs that enable and promote permanent government dependency. Colorado should tap these promised funds by expanding community-based treatment and transitional housing, as opposed to “housing first” and clear-the-encampment raids that merely redistribute homeless encampments.

The Supreme Court’s 2024 Grants Pass ruling, which upheld camping bans, empowers Colorado to act. By aligning with the executive order, Colorado can secure federal resources to address root causes — addiction, mental health, and housing shortages — while restoring public order.

Colorado’s leadership — at the state, county and local levels — must act boldly and with expedience to leverage this order and reverse the state’s homelessness surge. Let’s set a national example of compassionate, effective solutions to the brutality of life on the streets.

The Gazette Editorial Board