President Donald Trump's U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is capping funding for permanent housing at 30%, a drastic decrease from typical allocations.
Millions of dollars in federal funding for homeless services are at risk after the Trump administration on Friday moved forward with a contested policy shift away from the so-called Housing First approach to providing long-term housing to people living on the streets, according to Bucks and Montgomery County officials.
The new plan "we believe will worsen homelessness and destabilize communities, not improve them," said Kristyn DiDominick, executive director of the Bucks-Mont Collaborative, at a news conference in Warminster Monday. The nonprofit fosters resource sharing between the two counties.
Officials said hundreds of people, including families, veterans, and people with disabilities,including families, veterans, and people with disabilities.
Nonprofits' mission to secure stable funding from the Continuum of Care Program Competition, the largest federal program that funds services for people experiencing homelessness, has appeared to be a debacle for Pennsylvania service providers navigating confusing timelines, mixed messaging, and legal recourse in response to HUD's plan. The program was first established by HUD in 1994 to provide a range of services for the most vulnerable Americans
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, and social worker by trade, said HUD broke its "promise" to continue providing support to programs.
"If we can't trust HUD, how are we supposed to get the people we work with to trust us?" Ellis-Marseglia said.
The latest development came last Friday night when HUD announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) -- essentially an invitation to apply for federal grants -- that, among other things, caps funding for permanent housing at 30%, a drastic decrease from the typical 90%, said Kayleigh Silver, administrator of Montgomery County's Office of Housing and Community Development. The new NOFO came after HUD rescinded an initial version earlier this month.
The HUD announcement comes after two lawsuits, including one from Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and 20 other states attorneys general and governors, against President Donald Trump's administration for a November version plan that also drastically decreased funding for permanent housing.
The original plan gave HUD the authority to restrict funding from groups that recognize the existence of transgender and nonbinary people, populations who face greater risks for homelessness. Local stakeholders are still seeking clarification on whether that provision remains in the new plan.
It would have also put Philadelphia at risk of losing tens of millions of dollars for housing.
HUD temporarily rescinded the controversial plan on Dec. 8 just hours before the hearing for the lawsuits, citing an intent to revise it. Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Mary S. McElroy, who presided over the hearing, issued a preliminary injunction on HUD's efforts until a new funding notice is issued. It remains unclear to local advocates and service providers the differences between the new plan and the original.
"HUD will continue working to provide homelessness assistance funding to grantees nationwide. The Department remains committed to program reforms intended to assist our nation's most vulnerable citizens and will continue to do so in accordance with court orders," a spokesperson for the department said in a statement to The Inquirer.
This situation marks the latest obstacle that nonprofits have had to endure after a lengthy federal government shutdown and Pennsylvania's state budget impasse, causing many organizations to still be in catch-up mode.
It also signifies a change in HUD's policymaking, turning away from the "Housing First" mindset, which prioritizes giving permanent housing to homeless populations as a foundation for bettering their quality of life, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In a post on X on Saturday, HUD Secretary Scott Turner called the strategy "failed."
Bucks and Montgomery County service providers and advocates at the Monday news conference handed out literature that said "Chaos isn't a strategy" and called on Congress to step in, noting that the NOFO process is months behind.
The impacts "land on real people," DiDominick said.
Housing is also an important resource for survivors of domestic violence, said Stacy Dougherty, executive director at Laurel House, a domestic violence organization in Montgomery County.
"For victims of domestic violence, access to safe housing can be the difference between staying in an abusive relationship and being able to leave and sometimes even the difference between life and death," Dougherty said.
Erin Lukoss, CEO of the Bucks County Opportunity Council, added that "housing is the foundation," a backbone for the entire system that tries to address poverty and food insecurity. A lack of clarity on this funding is another stressor for service providers and those who benefit from the resources
"What makes this moment especially concerning is not just the potential reduction in funding, it's the instability of the rules themselves," Lukoss said.