The Trump administration is preparing to further shift federal homelessness funding away from harm reduction and toward involuntary commitment, according to a confidential grant-making draft document obtained by The New York Times.
The proposed changes are slated to affect funding as soon as January, would reduce support for permanent housing and redirect billions toward short-term intervention focused on work requirements, treatment mandates and encampment enforcement.
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, D.C., mobilized federal forces and worked to remove homeless encampments — moves that build on an executive order linking homelessness to mental illness, substance use and public safety.
Here are seven things to know about the draft:
- The Department of Housing and Urban Development would redistribute more than $3.5 billion in Continuum of Care funds under the new rules.
- The draft plan would limit spending on permanent housing to 30% of funds, down from about 90% this year.
- As many as 170,000 formerly homeless people could lose housing support, beginning in January. All currently qualify based on disability status. The document does not clarify how they will find housing.
- Programs that receive federal dollars would be required to adopt work requirements, enforce camping bans, or mandate treatment for mental illness and substance use disorders.
- About 400 Continuums of Care that now retain roughly 90% of prior-year funding would instead be guaranteed just 30% under the new criteria.
- The formula would shift most funding into a nationally competitive pool, increasing federal discretion over how homelessness dollars are distributed.
- The department said in a statement to the Times, “HUD has not made any announcements regarding this program. Broadly speaking, HUD will continue to serve the American people through means-tested measures to encourage self-sufficiency.”
