Jeff Olivet has resigned as executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). His last day in the post will be Dec. 16.
“Much work lies ahead for all of us—federal agency staff, national and local advocates, service providers, faith community leaders, the corporate sector, philanthropy, and state and local officials,” Olivet wrote in a Dec. 10 message. “We must continue to pull together to find compassion and common ground. We must go upstream to stop homelessness before it starts. We must courageously name racism and its harmful impacts. We must resist the pressure to advance policies that focus on arresting, fining, and jailing people who are struggling to survive. We must instead continue to focus on the real solutions to homelessness—housing, health care, and strong wraparound supports.”
He took over leadership of USICH in 2022 after he was nominated through a process led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and USICH council leaders and approved by the full council.
It is the only federal agency with the sole mission of preventing and ending homelessness.
Olivet began his career as a street outreach worker and a case manager before moving into national advocacy and policy work and research on homelessness. In September, USICH released the first-ever federal framework for homelessness prevention to spur more action, innovation, and collaboration at all levels of government and across all sectors.
“Despite the challenges we face in our collective work to prevent and end homelessness, I still believe down to my core that homelessness is solvable,” Olivet continued in his recent message. “I can envision a nation where no one experiences the horrors of homelessness for even one night. I hope you can too.”
His departure comes as the Trump administration and a new Congress prepare to take office.
During Trump’s first term, Robert Marbut was named to head USICH, a move strongly opposed by leading advocates for the homeless.
Several organizations said Marbut rejects Housing First, a proven strategy for reducing homelessness. In 2019, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) also blasted Marbut’s selection in 2019.
“It is a problem that the Trump administration’s designee to head the Interagency Council on Homelessness may believe that it’s more important to stop churches from providing food to homeless people than it is to find those people homes. If true, this is yet another example of this administration obstructing efforts to end homelessness in this country,” said Brown at the time.
