(The Center Square) – Mid-month, the Department of Housing and Urban Development released its new Notice of Funding Opportunity, revealing major cuts to programs geared toward addressing homelessness.
Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro joined 19 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit against the Trump administration to win back the funding.
“For decades, these housing programs have helped vulnerable people – families, seniors, veterans, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians – have access to safe, affordable housing,” said Shapiro. “Now, the Trump Administration is trying to abruptly dismantle the very system Congress created to fight homelessness.”
The Continuum of Care program has an annual budget of about $3.5 billion. A new Notice of Funding Opportunity from Housing and Urban Development makes cuts to programs that support long-term housing. Specifically, it reduces the percentage of funding for permanent housing from 87% to 30% of spending.
Instead, it prioritizes programs aligned with President Donald Trump’s executive order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.”
“Our philosophy for addressing the homelessness crisis will now define success not by dollars spent or housing units filled, but by how many people achieve long-term self-sufficiency and recovery,” said HUD Secretary Scott Turner in a statement about the funding. “We are stopping the Biden-era slush fund that fueled the homelessness crisis, shut out faith-based providers simply because of their values, and incentivized never-ending government dependency. These long-overdue reforms will promote independence and ensure we are supporting means-tested approaches to carry out the President’s mandate, connect Americans with the help they need, and make our cities and towns beautiful and safe.”
Advocates have questioned the efficacy of the policies, emphasizing housing stability.
From within Congress, a group of more than 20 Republicans in the House of Representatives drafted a letter in October asking to extend Continuum of Care programs for another year. They say the “extension is essential to prevent service disruptions for individuals and families experiencing homelessness, sustain continuity of care for vulnerable populations, and allow HUD adequate time to implement its next generation of homelessness policy reforms.”
The Shapiro administration said the cuts in Pennsylvania amount to canceling thousands of housing programs, which it called “the most important tool for addressing homelessness.” Last year, the state received $177 million for such programs.
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In addition to funding cuts, the governor’s statement wrote that policy changes would “impose unlawful conditions eliminating funding for applicants who acknowledge the existence of or serve LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians; punish local governments whose homelessness policies differ from the Trump administration; and require providers to fundamentally redesign programs within an impossible timeline, risking service interruptions and evictions.”
“Pennsylvanians depend on this funding and the Trump administration’s decision will force people out of their homes, defund organizations doing critical work, and leave state taxpayers on the hook,” said Shapiro. “I’m taking action to ensure the federal government keeps its promise – because no Pennsylvanian should be thrown back into homelessness because of political games in Washington.”
