The Cure For Homelessness isn't Money

Reuben Berger
Nov 22
2 min read

There is a powerful truth that sits right in front of us, yet almost no one says out loud:

We’ve normalized taxes for infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and policing —but we invest almost nothing in truly ending homelessness.

We put billions into managing homelessness

(shelters, policing, ER visits, crisis response)

but almost nothing into solving it.

And the “solution” has always been obvious:

Create true rehabilitation centers ~

Places where people can stay as long as they need,

with nature, stability, community, healing practices,

and people who genuinely care.

Here’s the deeper angle:

Government isn’t going to do this.

Community is.

Because:

Governments move slowly.
They don’t innovate.
They tend to create sterile, expensive, bureaucratic “programs.”
They treat symptoms, not human beings.
They rarely understand trauma, connection, or spiritual need.

This is why even if we created a “homelessness tax,” it would likely get swallowed in bureaucracy and end up funding more shelters — not sanctuary-style healing centers where people can actually transform.

The real power — the spiritual power — lies in the community.

In people.

In neighbors.

In the Good Samaritans.

In ordinary citizens who see someone suffering and say:

“Come stay with me. You’re safe here.”

This is what Healing Havens is restoring:

the ancient, sacred responsibility of a community to care for its own.

A “Healing Haven tax” doesn’t have to be collected by the government —it can be collected by the heart:

A community deciding, “We’ll each give what we can.”
A neighborhood saying, “Let’s sponsor a Haven.”
A synagogue, church, or community center opening its doors.
A group of Guardians contributing monthly to co-create something beautiful.

When we stop waiting for the government to fix things

and start acting like a true village again,everything changes.

Here’s the radical idea in a single sentence: