Innovative Housing, Addiction Recovery, and the Human Touch in Solving Homelessness
What if a $33,000 home or simply knowing someone’s name could change a life? In this episode, Jeremy and Dave unpack cutting-edge solutions to homelessness, starting with innovative housing like Boxable’s affordable, quick-to-build homes. They tackle the tough truths about addiction, advocating for rehabilitation programs that give people a real chance at recovery. But the heart of the episode lies in the human element—stories of connection and dignity that prove homelessness isn’t just a policy issue; it’s a human one. This is a powerful call to use the tools we already have to make a difference.
Timestamps
- (00:00) Introduction: Innovation and Humanity in Solving Homelessness
- (00:27) Innovative Housing Solutions: Building Homes for $33,000
- (03:48) Addressing Addiction: Rehab Programs That Work
- (08:44) The Human Element: Connection as a Catalyst for Change
- (15:12) Final Thoughts: We’ve Got the Tools—Let’s Use Them
📢 Solving America’s Problems Podcast – Real Solutions For Real Issues
Transcript
“Imagine a house built for $11,000 or a life changed just
2
:by someone saying your name.
3
:Today, we’re unpacking cutting-edge
housing, tough truths about addiction, and
4
:the human spark that can end homelessness.
5
:Join Dave and Jerremy for stories
and solutions that prove we’ve got
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:the tools—it’s time to use them.”
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:Jerremy Newsome: Have you
guys heard of Box able?
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:So it's a, a new company that's coming out
that's creating manufactured homes that
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:are, I think the total hard cost for a
850 square foot home, which isn't small,
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:but it's not large, big enough, right?
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:850 square feet home.
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:Is like $11,000 and you place the
house and it's fully 100% complete.
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:Built has everything you
need to live, boom, done box.
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:That's again, like, that's an entrepreneur
who sat down and go, all right, let's just
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:lower the cost of housing dramatically,
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:Because I think that's
probably Dave, right?
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:That has to be another, it's another
solution to this is if we really get
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:homes that we can build extremely
fast, extremely cheap, that are really,
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:really nice, that are safe, that are
effective, and not place 'em all together,
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:that's one of the other big problems.
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:You can't take everyone with poverty
and homelessness and houselessness and
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:depression and mental anxiety and stress
and shove 'em all in one location.
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:Go, all right, cool.
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:We built you a hundred houses in Utah.
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:Have fun.
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:That's not gonna work.
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:That's the slum, right?
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:Because poverty begets poverty, right?
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:It is gonna expand.
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:You are your network.
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:I think we all know that bad
association spoils useful habits.
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:So you put all these people together.
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:That now you have the same dynamic.
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:We're gonna have to
find ways to spread out.
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:Again, the, uh, we're gonna have to spread
out the fear and the poverty and the mi
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:and the lower vibrational mindsets to
allow other people to have more safety.
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:And you're gonna do that
through cheaper housing.
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:So I was kinda interrupting you, Dave.
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:You were getting all
fired up about something.
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:Dave Conley: I knew you were
in, you, you, I mean, you, you
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:spend time in Vegas, right?
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:Like you have, family or,
or homes or something there.
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:It was a Tony Shea the Zappos founder
that, that, that passed a few years ago.
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:He, uh, they're in downtown Vegas.
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:You know, like they've created
these communities out of, um.
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:Shipping containers and
they're real really nice.
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:I mean like, this is great, you know,
and I feel like if you can create
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:communities out of shipping container,
I mean like nice stores and homes
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:and like it, like it looked good.
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:I'm like, oh my God.
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:I mean, that's just like putting
super smart people, you know,
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:using, stuff that's kind of lying
around and making it amazing.
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:I mean, like we're Americans,
we can do anything.
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:Justin: Yeah.
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:Yeah.
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:And he created a, a whole
ecosystem around it.
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:I mean, the economic
opportunity for people.
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:It wasn't just housing, there
was economic opportunity and
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:yeah, it completely changed.
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:Completely changed that area.
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:Dave Conley: Yeah.
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:Jerremy Newsome: Yeah.
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:Well, again, I mean that,
that's the ingenuity piece.
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:Like to your point, Justin, like
we're gonna have to get some people
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:to just really care, and you're
gonna have to sit down with it, and
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:we're gonna have to think about it
and do exactly what we're doing now.
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:Have conversations with intelligent
people who really care and say, all
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:right, sweet, there, there's definitely.
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:Definitely solutions to this, right?
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:The program that you brought up in
city, uh, like the city program like
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:that could easily also be like, all
right, every city that's of this size
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:or more has to have one of these.
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:And you have an elected official, city
official call 'em a mayor, someone of
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:that, some of that stature, a higher
elected city official, call 'em a
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:state rep representative, right?
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:Who goes around and connects with,
has conversations with people that are
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:currently homeless as part of their job,
and they go, oh, listen, did you know we
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:have this right here where you have X,
y, Z amount of homes that are available
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:for you right now that are bridge
houses, that we have five available.
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:Let's get you in one because
it's now mandatory for you to
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:live somewhere nice and safe.
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:That's doable, right?
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:Justin?
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:Like that seems doable.
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:Justin: You know, everything
starts with a dream.
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:Yeah.
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:I love it.
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:Jerremy Newsome: Yeah, man.
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:I mean, I think ultimately, uh,
again, just the amount of money
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:that we're spending on this, which
is 20 billion a year, a year by the
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:way, like, what are you spending?
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:I, I still don't even know what
that money is being spent on.
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:Dave Conley: Quarters of a
million people, 20 billion.
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:Justin: Yeah.
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:There there's so many different
facets of, of, of government waste.
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:I mean, we, we know that, but even on
the housing side, you think about, uh,
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:section eight vouchers and, and how,
uh, everything's become privatized.
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:The government now provides the
money to section eight to, it's
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:not a government entity as far as I
understand, and then they govern it.
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:And so you get a, a house that
would typically rent for $1,200.
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:Um, but Section eight will pay $1,600,
and so now the rent goes up to $1,600
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:and the buffer of $400 just drains
that Section eight account even
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:faster because it's been privatized.
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:I mean, there, there's lots of different
things there, but you know, there,
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:there's just so many, so much waste.
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:Jerremy Newsome: Yeah,
there's a lot of ways.
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:I mean, again, I think for
real estate entrepreneurs.
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:If I were waving and this, I'm
gonna ask you this question next,
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:Justin, about your magic wand.
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:If I was waving, if I was waving a
magic wand, I would have thanks Dave.
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:I, I would have in, in order for you to
receive your, IRS real estate professional
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:designation, that you would have to
commit a certain amount of your knowledge,
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:network, time, talent, or treasure to
figure out houselessness and homelessness.
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:Specifically houselessness.
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:Houselessness, where they
need a place to stay.
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:They got a place to stay.
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:All the real estate entrepreneurs
together assemble once a quarter,
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:once a year to go, yep, this is it.
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:We're building these projects, we're
doing this, we're all coming together.
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:You do this.
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:We all invest in it together.
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:We take 5%, 1%, 10%.
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:Of our income to go, alright, sweet.
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:We're paying the taxes forward anyway.
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:So guess what?
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:Doing this gets you a tax credit.
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:Hey, that's fun, right?
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:A large tax credit.
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:So that you participate in this
project now you actually can,
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:you can depreciate property.
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:You can get a tax credit because now
you're benefiting and you're being a
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:part of this societal shift and change
that is create enough cost-effective
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:houses as real estate professionals
to make this problem negligible.
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:Right?
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:13,000 homeless people in
the US that like negligible.
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:Will it ever be zero?
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:No.
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:'cause like someone's always gonna
do something that's like saying
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:like, you'll never, ever have
anyone ever die of a heart attack.
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:Like, that's, that that's insane.
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:Like, you can't, without me
people, you can't say zero.
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:But we can say it a lot less and we
can spend better and we can do better.
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:The second approach that I would
figure out a way to then weave
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:in is, okay, each church, you're
now responsible to reach out.
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:You have your nonprofit designation,
you have to connect with your
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:local real estate order, right?
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:Connect that bridge.
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:So now it's no longer a
government to, subsidies.
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:It is privatized individual people that
can now be really put in time, energy,
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:effort to just solving this problem.
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:That's how that's a way, or at least
the beginning of how I'll start to solve
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:this problem if it was all up to me.
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:What about you Dave Conley
and then Justin Magic wand.
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:You get your 20 billion next year, right?
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:I just got mine.
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:I'm spending my 20 billion,
uh, communicating with the
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:real estate entrepreneurs.
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:What are you doing with yours?
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:Dave Conley: I mean, I like all
that, but I want to focus on.
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:Uh, drug, uh, drug drugs and addiction.
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:And you know, that I, you
know, I actually, I was
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:listening, you remember, uh, Dr.
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:Drew, you know, like the love lying guy?
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:I was listening to him and, you
know, like he's an expert in
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:all of this addiction stuff.
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:And he said that you know, if you,
if you are ensuring all of these, uh,
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:programs, uh, that, that keep people
addicted, you know, like, you know,
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:giving, you know, safe you know,
handing out needles, handing out drugs,
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:you know, safe, you said that is an,
that's a death sentence like that, that
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:absolutely will end up in somebody dying.
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:And it's the cruelest thing that he can
think of, uh, that all of these, um,
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:all of these programs to keep people
addicted will keep them addicted.
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:So like, I think my magic wand is, for,
you know, the folks, well, it might
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:also be the mentally, but, but I think
mainly the addiction, because I think
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:that we know how to solve addiction.
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:We do like it, it's not a mystery.
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:And it's, it's not giving people
more drugs or giving them,
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:like spaces and needles and the
rest of it that does not help.
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:We know how to solve addiction.
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:So, you know, when people are in
these, these, uh, cycles and they're,
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:they're with, you know, the drugs
and the drugs have got them, they
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:need to be taken off the street.
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:They need to be put into, programs, these
30, 60, 90 day programs or longer to get
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:them detoxed and off of these things.
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:And in the behavioral health and in the,
the programs and in the communities, uh,
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:you know, like the aas and the support
organizations that will keep somebody
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:clean, because I don't know of anybody
who wants to stay addicted, you know,
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:like they, they are trapped in addiction.
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:And so I, I want my magic wand to be like.
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:Yeah, no.
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:You know, it's, it's not freedom
to leave somebody on the street.
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:It's freedom to lock them into a
program for a set amount of time and
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:have intensive therapy and, doctors and
medical professionals and behaviorists
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:and psychologists, and spend that $20
million on that extremely expensive
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:inpatient care for a set amount of
time to give somebody that reset button
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:so that they have a fighting chance.
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:Otherwise, the drugs will not let them go.
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:So that's what I wanna spend my money on.
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:Jerremy Newsome: So we just have to
figure out of the group of people
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:who are currently labeled as ho
homelessness, like homeless, right?
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:What percentage of them
are facing that addiction?
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:Dave Conley: Oh, I mean, it's, I mean,
haven't, again, I was living in San
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:Francisco, it was pretty obvious,
you know, like, like it was zombie.
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:Like people would actually be like
bent over and like in, like it was
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:straight up fennel and they weren't
moving and their eyes were closed
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:and they were out on the street.
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:I mean, like, it's, it's, um,
yeah, it's, it's pretty obvious.
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:And it's like, ah, no, and right
now they just go in and out of
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:emergency rooms and it's just a,
you know, they're out the same day.
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:And yet no, that stops, you know,
it's like if you're taken in for a
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:drug overdose, then boom you're out.
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:You know, it's, uh, it's immediate and
straight into a program and that's it.
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:You know, like I, you, you used to
be able to hold somebody, right?
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:And now it's illegal, particularly
in California, to actually hold
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:somebody for any length of time.
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:You know, it's like considered
like an imprisonment.
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:And I'm like, no, they're in an,
they're in a prison right now.
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:It's like, we gotta get
them out of the prison.
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:Like if you're in a prison right now,
it's like, let's get you out, you know,
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:let, let's give you a fighting chance.
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:Let's get you in the program and
people are not going to like it.
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:Like, it's, it's not going to be popular.
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:It's not going to look good from the from
the outside looking in, it's gonna look
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:crazy like you're taking people away and
like, no, you're giving 'em a chance.
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:Give 'em that 30, 60, 90 days of
just getting clean and they're
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:going to be not well for a while.
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:You know?
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:They, they're gonna be fighting it.
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:They're gonna, like,
it's not gonna be good.
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:So that's what I'm
gonna spend my money on.
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:The doctors, the behaviorists, the
psychologists, the teams of people,
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:great facilities, great, uh, programs,
because we know how to fix addiction.
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:It isn't a mystery.
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:So let's do that.
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:Let's spend the money on that.
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:Jerremy Newsome: Okay, love it.
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:Justin, you
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:Justin: Yeah.
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:Again,
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:Jerremy Newsome: 20 billion to Justin.
241
:Justin: I feel grossly underqualified
to tackle this from a $20
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:billion question like that.
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:But you know, when, when I was, I.
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:When I was fresh outta Bible college,
I was a youth pastor and I, I was a
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:youth pastor at a, at a church that
was in a really affluent community.
246
:And one of the first things I
wanted to do is, is give these
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:kids an experience to get out of
that kind of that kind of bubble.
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:And so I partnered with a
church called the Dream Center.
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:Uh, I dunno if you've ever heard
of them, but it's a dream center.
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:They're in LA and we would go on
Saturdays and we would meet up, and
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:then we would take buses to places
like Skid Row to different, uh, housing
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:projects and in Watts, south Central.
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:And all we would do is we would go door
to door and knock and it's like, Hey,
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:this is Justin from the Dream Center,
just wondering if you need anything.
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:And we would write lists of like,
yeah, we need a, we need a stroller,
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:or we need groceries, or we need this.
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:And there was no tracks, there was no
preaching sermons or anything like that.
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:It was just, what do you need?
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:And the thing that struck me
is that it moved people from
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:a project to actual people.
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:And I think the solution,
it's not always housing.
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:I think the solution is relationship.
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:And I don't think the goal at its root
level is about solving hopelessness.
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:It's about seeing people
that are in front of you.
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:It's about seeing people that, that have
needs and using the resources that are
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:at your discretion, whether it's mental
health resources, psychologists, detox
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:programs, whatever those resources are
fit to help that person in front of you.
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:And so I think if I had to put all of my
eggs in, in one basket, what's the thing
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:that would make the biggest difference?
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:I think it goes back to that, that
idea of, of being generous in inside
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:this community where I see you as a
human being and I'm going to use my
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:resources to help you move forward.
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:It's not a $20 billion solution.
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:It's a, it's a human solution.
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:Dave Conley: We heard the
exact same thing last week.
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:Our choice psychologist, he was,
um, where, or was he Manchester,
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:uk, maybe London, I don't know.
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:Somewhere in the, yeah.
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:London.
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:And all he did was learn the guy's name.
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:And, you know, that was
always outside the bar.
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:Where he was working, he just learned
his name and then he, and then the
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:guy disappeared and people were
like wondering, it's like, okay.
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:He was sort of like the neighborhood
homeless guy, and he showed up like
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:months and months and months later, and
he was clean shaven, his hair was cut.
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:He was wearing like clothing.
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:And he said that was the number one
thing that got him clean, got him off
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:the street, got him back into humanity,
was being treated like a human.
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:Like all he did was learn the guy's name.
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:And, you know, like as soon as
that guy was seen it gave him just
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:that, that little thing to hold
onto and that was his pathway back.
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:And that doesn't cost us anything, you
know, to see somebody and to be with them
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:Jerremy Newsome: yep.
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:Gentlemen, I love it.
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:I think, I mean, what I'm
hearing is, and Justin knows
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:my dream, he knows the vision.
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:If we have a top down approach,
someone who cares, someone who knows
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:some of the solutions, who've thought
about it, who actually given it
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:time is aware of the issue, and it
starts from a place of love, starts
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:from a place of organization, starts
from a place of empowerment vocally.
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:When's the last time?
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:Every day the president gets up
at eight o'clock, nine o'clock, 10
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:o'clock, and just delivers a state
of the Union for four minutes.
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:It's just one of power.
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:Positivity, support, celebration,
motivation, excitement.
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:We can do this.
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:We're gonna do this.
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:As a nation, we is a problem.
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:Stop littering.
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:This is a problem.
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:Take care of our citizens.
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:No one should be hungry.
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:No kid should be homeless.
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:This is easy.
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:Let's fix this problem and we're
gonna have to do it together.
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:We're gonna have to fix it together.
317
:Have a great day at work.
318
:Justin: Great.
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:Jerremy Newsome: if we can do that,
I, I think that's the vision for me,
320
:like that is what changes and actually
creates a ripple of the human aspect,
321
:because we forget that people that
are homeless, that do face their
322
:addiction, Dave, they are human.
323
:They do have a name, they have a
story, and they haven't been cared for,
324
:they haven't been taken care of, and
they haven't really poured in, they
325
:haven't been poured into with love
and light and happiness and purpose.
326
:Justin, thank you for pouring into so
many people for a recovery where our
327
:mission is to save lives and stop evil.
328
:You are an amazing person.
329
:You are an incredible contributor
to not only your family, but to your
330
:community, to communities around you.
331
:Thank you for being a dear friend of mine
and someone who's extremely celebrated
332
:all over the world for your heroics.
333
:This has been a great
episode, a great discussion.
334
:Thank you for your time.
335
:Justin: I love you guys.
336
:Thank you so much.
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:Dave Conley: Okay.
338
:What did you learn on this one?
339
:Jerremy Newsome: What did I learn, Dave?
340
:You know, man, I learned that more people
care about this than we're given credit
341
:for more people are aware and it pro I
like how one of the very first questions,
342
:great job is like, is this societal?
343
:And bro says, yeah, like that's probably
the mark of this big, big issue is like
344
:we as an entire nation are just accepting
this and it's gonna come from a direction.
345
:I see that very clearly.
346
:I would call this and you know,
it's okay to hate me for it.
347
:A small problem.
348
:The reason I say a small problem
numerically, it's extremely tiny, right?
349
:Uh, we have more people dying
from heart disease than we'll
350
:ever die from homelessness.
351
:But think the societal impacts.
352
:Are daily and we just became
numb to them over time.
353
:And so having someone that cares, whoever
that person is, and having campaigns
354
:and policies that are targeted to
impact in a positive long-term way, this
355
:challenge and this problem seems doable.
356
:And the one that we eventually
discovered through Justin's
357
:ideation was really, really cool.
358
:And I think that there's, I think that
there's a lot that can be done that
359
:with that, again, I know the large
separation of church and state, we
360
:probably make it relatively impossible
to go churches, you have to do this.
361
:But I'm sure that there's also incentives
that would allow us to make it faster or
362
:more, more probable, can put it that way.
363
:Dave Conley: It's, I mean, it's a
it's a real solution and a solution
364
:we haven't heard before, right?
365
:Like if we, using your platform or
making, you know, making this, you know,
366
:saying this is unacceptable as Americans,
this is not how we are, you know, like
367
:we are, we are kind, we are generous.
368
:We are ensuring that those that are
hurting the most are helped the most.
369
:And that, you know, this, you're right.
370
:This is a small problem that I think
gets swallowed by everything else.
371
:You know, it's like people think about,
you know, Ukraine and Israel and,
372
:and tariffs a lot more than they do.
373
:Like the person who's literally, you know,
just down the block from them right now.
374
:And that is bonkers, you know.
375
:Yeah, I, I, I love the idea of
like, look, you know, there's more
376
:than 770,000 churches out there.
377
:It's like, okay guys, you know, we're
changing your, we're changing your names
378
:to big meanie if you don't do something,
379
:Jerremy Newsome: Big sneaker Dole Cookie.
380
:Better.
381
:You better give us something better.
382
:Yeah, I agree.
383
:That's what I learned, man.
384
:I, I learned that this is, again,
from a societal standpoint, if we
385
:know, like right now, like that our
values as Americans are probably like,
386
:we're gonna kick you in the face.
387
:You know, like, like that's
probably our main values.
388
:Like, we're just gonna have a
bigger military than you and
389
:we're just gonna beat everyone up.
390
:So screw you.
391
:cool.
392
:I was like, now getting past that,
we can still have a big military,
393
:but we can also go, all right, sweet
guys we're the most formable force
394
:in the world's work on our nation.
395
:Let's work on the 350 ish million
people that live here and let's
396
:just make sure we're all good now.
397
:'cause everyone else kind
of hates this right now.
398
:We're picking on everybody.
399
:Let's take this spotlight
that we have, these apparently
400
:unlimited resources and just.
401
:Do it right here.
402
:Take care of everyone right here.
403
:Protect ourselves, obviously
from a crazy threat, but take
404
:care of everyone internally.
405
:That's what I'm doing, Dave.
406
:That's where we're going.
407
:Dave Conley: I like it.
408
:Jerremy Newsome: Listen, awesome.
409
:Dave Conley: awesome.
410
:Alright, where, where can,
where can people find us?
411
:Jerremy Newsome: I think the easiest
way for you as a listener to find us,
412
:track us down on Instagram or Twitter.
413
:Instagram.
414
:You can find us at solving America's
Problems podcast and on Twitter,
415
:also known as X at Solve USA pod,
416
:Dave Conley: That's us.
417
:And don't forget, drop a five star
review, share the episodes that you love.
418
:Those really help us out,
and that's how you do it.
419
:Until next week, this has been
solving America's problems.
420
:Thank you fam.
