I am calling out the bullshit of Devon Kurtz, Policy Director at The Cicero Institute. Cicero Institute is responsible for pushing to get rid of housing-first solutions THAT WORK, and replace them with institutionalization through civil commitment and incarceration. I live in Utah where he/they have been actively working with legislators to push their agenda.
Utah Homeless Services Board (UHSB)
Letter: “UTAH HOMELESS SERVICES BOARD 2026 GENERAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION RECOMMENDATIONS”
- This is the Utah Homeless Services Board (UHSB) policy recommendation letter. Randy Shumway (Chair) wants a civil commitment facility (bad bad bad)
- Note that this letter was heavily influenced by “wants” from Utah Senate Leader Stuart Adams and Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz that incorporated the July 24 Presidential Executive Order policy changes to move away from a housing-first policy that Utah has traditionally been a leader for, and previously shown great success in implementing.
Response: “Utah Housing Coalition Shares Community Concerns on Utah’s “Action Plan to Address Homelessness” Aligned with the “Ending Crime and Disorder” Executive Order” (utahnewsdispatch.com)
Presidential Executive Order
“ENDING CRIME AND DISORDER ON AMERICA’S STREETS” (July 24, 2025)
- the right-wing think tank Cicero Institute was involved in advocating for the policies that ultimately shaped the Presidential Executive Order “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets”
- The executive order shifts focus from housing-first to institutionalizing homeless individuals with mental health and substance abuse issues
- Critics argue the order fails to address root causes of homelessness and may increase untreated mental illness and incarceration.
Response: Unpacking Executive Order “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” (ensorahealth.com)
- The Executive Order represents the most sweeping federal pivot toward compulsory treatment and criminal-justice integration since the 1965 Community Mental Health Centers Act redirected asylums toward the community.
- In isolation, the order risks exchanging tents for jail bunks and psychiatric wards without tackling the root supply constraints of therapy, housing, and peer support.
Reference
2025-12-11 Article: Miller family donates millions to aid Utah’s homeless (fox13now.com)
- The recipient org (https://homelessutah.org/) is comprised of city and county mayors in the Salt Lake area. However I also recognize Wayne Neiderhauser from Utah Office of Homeless Services, who is a Non-Voting Advisor. He sits on the board of Utah Homeless Services Board Members (UHSB) along with Randy Shumway (executive committee chair), who is also the CEO of the Cicero Group.
- See the Utah News Dispatch article below (Nov 24)
2025-12-08 Article: Cox wants lawmakers to put up millions for a massive homeless shelter that Utah is not yet sure how to run (sltrib.com)
- “State officials have long followed a policy of getting homeless people into housing first, but now officials are weighing a system that focuses on behavioral health care and forcing more people into help. Such a pivot would put the state in line with a summertime executive order from President Donald Trump.”
2025-11-24 Article: Utah’s plan for massive homeless shelter draws heat from advocates, community leaders (sltrib.com)
- When Gov. Spencer Cox was quoted in The New York Times saying Utah’s proposed partially involuntary homeless shelter is “a statement of who we are as a state,” Rev. Brigette Weier all but balked. “My Lord,” the minister said. “I pray that is not true.”
- Shumway’s recommendations to respond to Trump’s executive order, calling for a “certified community behavioral health clinic” on the campus with 300 to 400 beds reserved for people who are civilly committed — or court ordered into mental health treatment. His proposal drew criticism and concern from some homeless advocates, who worried it would be wildly expensive and could create a chilling effect by building a civil commitment facility in direct proximity to homeless shelter beds.
2025-11-20 Minutes: UHSB Public Meeting
- Stakeholder presentations included Devon Kurtz of The Cicero Institute, who proposed to reallocate grant funds from SAMHSA Protection & Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI), and request engagement of the US Dept of Justice to build a framework for expanded civil commitment.
2025-11-18 Article: Faith leaders, environmental groups push back on proposed homeless campus (ksltv.com)
2025-10-29 Article: In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape (nytimes.com)
2025-10-02 Article: Utah homeless board proposes ‘initial framework’ to respond to Trump’s executive order (Utah News Dispatch)
2025-09-03 Announcement: State Legislators Respond to Proposed State Homeless Services Campus on Salt Lake City’s West Side (utahhousedemocrats.utleg.gov)
- “With the Utah Homeless Services Board’s proposal of a new homeless services campus in the area we represent, we are concerned that this decision was made without any significant input from the public. As leaders and champions on issues of homelessness, we know how critical it is for our unhoused neighbors to have access to safe shelter and the services they need to regain stability. This campus is an important step in addressing the state’s homelessness crisis, but it must move forward in partnership with the people who will live alongside it.”