HUD Announces Drastic Changes to Homelessness Strategy

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)The Government believes this approach will increase accountability and promote independence – with the Government targeting what it sees as the root causes of homelessness.

“These long-awaited reforms will advance independence and ensure we support means-tested approaches to fulfill the President’s mandate, connect Americans to the help they need, and make our cities and towns beautiful and safe,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said in a news release.

Turner also announced $3.9 billion in competitive grants for the program.

HUDS Continuum of care – the nation’s largest initiative to house people experiencing homelessness – has previously spent 87% of its budget on permanent housing.

HUD staffers and others familiar with the plan – who spoke with Politico in September on condition of anonymity — warned that proposed cuts could put more than 170,000 people at risk of returning to shelters or the streets.

Tight subsidy window

Politics reported On Friday, the upcoming window for applying for Continuum of Care grants closes on January 14 – weeks before Congress decides HUD’s budget.

Because current project grants will expire before new awards are made, some permanent housing programs could lose all funding and displace residents during the coldest months, a HUD official said.

With awards not expected until May 1, many programs could face a funding gap until early 2026.

Roughly a third of all grants expire between January and June 2026, meaning many projects will run out of money long before new funds arrive, the report said. National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Bipartisan opposition

Forty-two Democrats in the Senate urged Turner will change course and extend the fiscal year 2025 Continuum of Care grants in a letter dated Thursday.

“HUD must immediately reconsider these harmful and potentially illegal changes, which could force nearly 200,000 older adults, chronically homeless Americans with disabilities, veterans and families back onto the streets,” the senators wrote. “As Secretary, you have the authority to avoid this worst-case scenario by implementing the previously planned and Congressionally authorized two-year NOFO, and we strongly urge you to do so urgently.”

In October, there were more than twenty Republicans in the House of Representatives wrote to Turner, also urging HUD to extend the subsidies and advising that policy changes “must be carefully implemented to avoid destabilizing programs that serve people with severe disabilities related to mental illness, chronic health conditions, or substance use disorders, as well as seniors with disabilities.”