# Ep 401 | California Is Failing the Homeless | Guest: Mary Theroux

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kibbe-on-liberty-687266/ep-401-california-is-failing-the-homeless-guest-mary-theroux
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kibbe-on-liberty-687266/ep-401-california-is-failing-the-homeless-guest-mary-theroux.md
Podcast: [Kibbe on Liberty](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kibbe-on-liberty-687266)
Published: 2026-08-26T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/4V6da/arttrk.com/p/BLZM1/verifi.podscribe.com/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/285/pscrb.fm/rss/p/chrt.fm/track/1655CF/cohst.app/pdcst/5I2S5F/traffic.megaphone.fm/BMDC9519803874.mp3
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pfx.vpixl.com/4V6da/arttrk.com/p/BLZM1/verifi.podscribe.com/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/285/pscrb.fm/rss/p/chrt.fm/track/1655CF/cohst.app/pdcst/5I2S5F/traffic.megaphone.fm/BMDC9519803874.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2936

## Resource

For decades, California has been pouring government money into the homelessness problem, insisting that the issue can be solved by simply giving people free housing. Today, the situation is worse than ever, because the housing-first approach neglects the full picture of what causes someone to become homeless in the first place, which is often related to drug addiction or mental illness. Matt Kibbe speaks with Mary Theroux, CEO of the Independent Institute, about the film “Building Home,” a collaborative effort between her organization and Free the People, which uses one man’s story of redemption to highlight the policy failures of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, while proposing an alternative approach that actually works. Watch the full "Building Home" documentary here: https://freethepeople.org/films/building-home/

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## Transcript

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