Last month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it would pull future funding from housing first programs.
Those include permanent support for people with disabilities and short term rental assistance.
But on Monday, HUD put those changes on pause — just before a scheduled court hearing in a case seeking to overturn the new policy. That’s left local governments and service providers around the country in limbo.
According to Washoe County homeless services coordinator Catrina Peters, though, the delay’s not all bad.
“These are fundamental, sweeping, drastic changes to how our community is operated,” she said. “So the more time we have to prepare and respond to that, the better.”
HUD didn’t specify when it would reintroduce the updated guidelines in its initial announcement that they had been withdrawn. But in a written statement shared with KUNR, a spokesperson for the agency said it would be reissued as quickly as possible.
“HUD fully stands by the fundamental reforms to the FY25 Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and will reissue the NOFO as quickly as possible with technical corrections. The Department intends to make resources available in a timely manner so grantees with measurable results can continue to support vulnerable populations. The Department remains fully committed to making long overdue reforms to its homelessness assistance programs,” the full statement read.
Those “fundamental reforms” include a new focus on short-term transitional housing, as well as mandatory treatment for addiction and severe mental illness.
But Peters said unhoused people in Washoe County haven’t utilized transitional housing as much as other types of assistance. Meanwhile, she explained, research supports housing first policies.
“HUD put forward increased funding for permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing, and the focus on the housing first programming model, because they’re all incredibly evidence-based,” she said.
In 2023, HUD’s own analysis showed housing first approaches were more effective at getting unhoused people off the streets and into stable shelter.
There are at least two lawsuits seeking to block the change. In one, officials from Rhode Island and other states argue it violates congressional authority. A judge will hear arguments in the case on Dec. 19.
