HUD changes could endanger housing for 170,000 people

Straight Arrow News

Watch HUD changes could endanger housing for 170,000 people - Straight Arrow News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is introducing changes in how communities fight

00:05homelessness. The agency just released new rules for 2025 and providers across the country say

00:12these changes could completely rewrite how people get help. The Continuum of Care program is the

00:19main federal funding stream communities use to respond to homelessness. It runs on about three

00:25and a half billion dollars a year and supports hundreds of thousands of people nationwide.

00:30This year it's closer to four billion. That includes older adults, people with disabilities,

00:35veterans and families who need stable housing for safety reasons. So why does all of this matter?

00:41These rules could change how communities respond to homelessness in a very short time. For years

00:47communities could count on most of their funding being safe. About 90 percent was locked in. Now

00:53only 30 percent is guaranteed. That means 70 percent of the money communities use to keep

00:58people housed is suddenly up for competition. If a community loses points in scoring, they can lose

01:04critical programs. HUD says communities can only spend 30 percent of their funding on permanent

01:10supportive housing and rapid rehousing. The Urban Institute says permanent supportive housing is the

01:16most effective way to help people leave homelessness and stay stable long term. Studies show permanent

01:22housing reduces time spent unhoused, improves housing stability, cuts arrests and jail stays, reduces

01:29emergency room visits and improves overall quality of life. It even helps lower a community's rate of

01:35chronic homelessness. In comparison, the Urban Institute says transitional housing does not show the

01:42same results. People get into housing at a slower rate, are less likely to remain housed and still rely on

01:48public assistance. There is no evidence that transitional housing reduces homelessness or successfully houses

01:55people facing long term or repeated homelessness. HUD's own documents show how big the drop is. Nearly 87 percent

02:03of next year's funding was set to support permanent housing. But under these new rules, it is capped at just 30 percent.

02:10A HUD briefing says about 170,000 people could be at risk of losing housing because of these cuts. Another big shift is that almost

02:18every program has to compete. Youth housing projects and domestic violence programs that once had extra

02:24protections no longer do. They have to be ranked and scored like everyone else. HUD also created new reasons a

02:32project can be rejected. Programs can be denied money for using racial preferences, for using any definition of sex

02:39that is not binary, or for engaging in harm reduction. When HUD talks about harm reduction, they mean basic safety steps like

02:48providing safer use supplies to prevent disease or giving people Narcan to reverse an overdose. These are common

02:55tools used in many shelters and outreach programs to keep people alive and safe. The National Low Income Housing

03:01Coalition says the new scoring rules push communities toward models focusing on camping bans, mandated services and

03:09strict public safety measures rather than on housing that actually works. The National Low Income Housing Coalition says the late

03:16release could create serious funding gaps. Applications are due January 14th, but awards do not arrive

03:23until May. About one-third of all grants expire before then, which means many programs could run out of money

03:29even if they are renewed. That could lead to service cuts, temporary shutdowns, and more people losing housing

03:36as funding lapses. HUD is also shifting priorities. Projects requiring services, offering treatment on site,

03:43or partnering with law enforcement, get more points. Communities also get points for having laws against

03:49camping or illegal drug use and for enforcing them. This gives more weight to public safety approaches

03:55and could affect how outreach work is done. New rules change what programs even look like. Transitional

04:01housing must offer 40 hours of services a week. Rapid rehousing must require services and show job gains. New

04:09supportive housing must focus on older adults or people with physical disabilities and also require

04:15participation in services. The scoring system is different too. A new merit review decides who gets

04:21funded. And in Tier 2, projects can earn extra points for requiring services. That means voluntary support

04:28models that have been standard for years may start with fewer points. HUD also expanded its risk review. Now,

04:35it can deny funding based on media reports, findings from the inspector general, or public complaints.

04:42For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey. Read the full story right now on san.com or

04:47download the Straight Arrow News mobile app today.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended