Funding for Housing & Homelessness Programs in Jeopardy

In response to a more than 44% cut to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) affordable housing and community development programs, which would re-shape how homelessness, permanent supportive housing (PSH), and affordable housing programs are funded and operate, the National Low Income Housing Coalition has prepared an Advocacy Toolkit for Opposing Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing.

According to a recent National Alliance to End Homelessness’ recent policy brief, in addition to a slew of budget shifts and reductions within external agencies that intersect with the work of homelessness prevention and response (including significant proposed cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, etc.), the proposed changes to HUD’s budget that would have an immediate and direct impact affordable housing & homelessness initiatives include (but are not limited to):

  • Eliminating most federal rental assistance programs administered by HUD and replacing them with a new “State Rental Assistance Program – where the funding would be decreased by 57.5%, or $26.72 billion.
  • Reducing fair housing initiative funding by more than half.
  • Eliminating funding for HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) & HOME Investment Partnership program, that funds affordable housing development.
  • Consolidating the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) into the existing Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program, zeroing out the HOPWA program ($505M) and reducing the amount available for Homelessness Assistance Grants by $27 million.
  • Zeroing out the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
  • Formally eliminates the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), which is the agency that has led coordination of the federal response to homelessness for decades.

To see how these policy shifts may affect you, you can view a dashboard of Federally Funded PSH Units by State here and a dashboard of the Impact of Losing of Emergency Housing Vouchers by State here.

All of these programs and initiatives work to support people who are experiencing hardship, including mental health and substance use disorders. Access to stable and affordable housing contributes to success overcoming hardships and are integral in supporting successful treatment outcomes. To advocate to protect affordable housing and funding that supports mitigation of homelessness, you can use NLIHC’s FY26 advocacy toolkit, Opposing Cuts to Federal Investments in Affordable Housing.

4 Ways the Toolkit Recommends taking action:

  1. Organizations can sign a national letter opposing cuts to federal housing investments, and in support of expanding resources
  2. Contact your members of Congress and educate them about the importance of federal affordable housing and homelessness investments and why cuts to these investments will harm your communities and neighbors. Urge federal lawmakers to expand - not cut - investments in HUD programs in the FY26 spending bill, including NLIHC’s top priorities:
    1. Full funding to renew all existing Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) contracts and funding to renew 60,000 Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHVs).
    2. Increased funding for public housing operations and public housing capital needs.
    3. $4.922 billion for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG) program.
    4. $20 million for the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP).
    5. At least $1.3 billion for HUD’s Tribal housing programs and $150 million for competitive funds targeted to tribes with the greatest needs.
    6. You can find data and information about what the affordable housing crisis looks like in your community here. While data is helpful, sharing your story can help build a connection with lawmakers by finding shared values, and highlight the impact lawmakers’ decisions have on individuals, families, and communities. Learn more about effective storytelling with NLIHC’s resource, “Storytelling Tips and Tricks.”
  3. Check out the “Reject Housing Cuts and EHV Funding Cliff: Action Toolkit,” developed in partnership with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, National Alliance to End Homelessness, and National Housing Law Project. The toolkit has talking points, resources, advocacy ideas and more, and will be updated as additional information and resources become available!
  4. Post on social media using #HandsOffHousing, using NLIHC’s sample social media messages in this toolkit.