The Trump administration is significantly slashing permanent housing funding for unsheltered people in the coming year in favor of transitional housing and treatment programs. Many public health experts say the move will be detrimental to people in tenuous living situations and put enormous strain on local resources in Maryland.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program will significantly lower its grant allocations for permanent housing from 87% to 30% nationwide. HUD estimated the move could put as many as 170,000 out on the street, according to internal documents obtained by POLITICO.
“We're going to see increases in emergency department visits, increases in hospitalizations, increases in incarceration, all of these things cost money,” said Kevin Lindamood, president and CEO of Healthcare for the Homeless, an organization that provides care to people without housing. “This policy really doesn't save resources as much as it shifts resources around.”
Maryland receives about $69 million in Continuum of Care funds and Baltimore was awarded $29 million in 2024.
That shift will put more of a burden on emergency services, local governments and community organizations, as federal funding for permanent housing takes a steep nosedive.
Maryland residents will likely see the ripple effects as the state’s emergency rooms, which already have the worst wait times for getting a long-term bed in the nation, are likely to become even more stressed.
A recent five-year study by the Hilltop Institute at UMBC found statistically significant reductions in emergency department visits, hospitalization and hospital readmissions within 30 days when people had supportive housing.
“It’s a decades long, bipartisan consensus, research driven conclusion that people do better when we root care in permanent housing and provide intensive services,” Lindamood said.
The Trump administration says it is moving away from the “Housing First Ideology” to one of self-sufficiency.
“This transformative policy reform will break cycles of addiction, empower self-sufficiency, and drive lasting recovery,” said Department of Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
The administration is also changing who can apply for the grants, letting faith-based organizations bid for funds.
The White House released the notification for the grant last week, and will be accepting bids until mid-January. Advocates for unsheltered people say the truncated application period keeps organizations from coming up with proposals and submitting them in time.
Both of Maryland’s U.S. senators signed onto a letter expressing concern about the Continuum of Care change.
“HUD should make the responsible choice to renew current CoC grants, proactively work with communities to promote other proven strategies ‘based on research and after notice and public comment’ and work to ensure any policy changes meet all legal requirements to avoid more funding delays,” they wrote in the letter.
The policy change is in line with President Donald Trump’s executive order from earlier this year that allows for clearing of encampments and the forced institutionalization of some people with mental health and addiction issues.
