Because of Trump-driven federal budget cuts and policy changes, our state and local governments stand to lose up to $120 million in federal funding for programs that successfully prevent and end homelessness. Without state action, more people will face homelessness and suffer longer on the streets. State lawmakers should offset the harm caused by the federal government with the creation of a $120 million contingency fund in the supplemental budget appropriations and by passing policy to provide new flexibility for existing fund sources that could be used to sustain existing programs to keep people in their homes.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) threatens to gut proven strategies such as permanent supportive housing. This and other funding and policy changes proposed by HUD could force more than 5,000 households in Washington back into homelessness in 2026 alone. The proposed changes would mark a dramatic shift from proven solutions to homelessness.

The creation of a $120 million contingency fund would offset any loss of federal homelessness funds and ensure that people living in permanent supportive housing in Washington can remain in their homes.

Protecting people experiencing homelessness until everyone has a home is a fundamental value of the Housing Alliance and a key element in the Housing Alliance's "Roadmap to Housing Justice" - a comprehensive strategy to end Washington's housing and homelessness crisis. Learn more at wliha.org/roadmap