During the government shutdown, there is a very important matter that threatened critical support systems in the fight against homelessness. We need your immediate assistance and support.
As you may know, Congress is considering a Continuing Resolution (CR). It is critical that they include Section 166 (from S.2882/H.R.5450) in the Continuing Resolution.
Section 166 is a no-cost provision that abides by past Congressional direction in FY2024 authorizing Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue a two-year Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process for FY2024 and 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) program funds.
Without this safeguard, HUD could dismantle homelessness response systems nationwide by delaying or denying critical funding.
We need your voice. Please contact Congress Members from the House of Representatives and Senate, immediately and ask them to:
- Protect homelessness funding for our state by including Section 166 in the Continuing Resolution.
- Reject HUD’s attempts to dismantle the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program via a new and unknown Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) process for FY25.
- Recognize that a 30% cap on permanent supportive housing (including Rapid- Re-Housing) for Continuum of Care funding would devastate our community, leaving countless households without housing and support they need and directly impacting property owners who rely on these programs to provide stable rental income and agencies that administer/partner with CoC programs.
- It is important to note that Cuyahoga County currently utilizes over 70 % of their CoC funding for permanent supportive housing.
The housing of thousands of households in our community, alone, hangs in the balance. We cannot overstate how important this is. This is a community-wide issue that will impact:
- Property owners/managers who partner with Continuum of Care programs
- Local businesses
- Non-Profit organizations (including LMM) providing outreach, housing, and supportive services
- State and local governments who cannot absorb these losses
We urgently ask that you take a few minutes to call or email your lawmakers and let them know how critical this CoC funding is to our community.
We have provided a sample message you can use:
“As an ally in the fight against homelessness and supporter of the Continuum of Care, I am asking you to retain the HUD Continuum of Care program and protect homelessness funding by including Section 166 of S.2882/H.R.5450 in the Continuing Resolution. Funding for permanent supportive housing should also not be capped at 30% in any NOFO. Without these actions, critical housing programs in our state will be dismantled, directly impacting people who are extremely vulnerable – including individuals with disabilities, families, older adults, veterans, and those fleeing domestic violence—leaving them without housing. Please act now to protect these programs.”
With gratitude,
[Your Name and address]
The urgency to act now is imperative as a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) cannot be released during the government shutdown.
Now is the time to stand together to ensure that our community continues to have the resources needed to prevent and end homelessness and promote housing stability for all.
