Homeless advocates in northwest Michigan say a shift in federal priorities could cost their organizations losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and put at least 20 households on the streets.
Each year, organizations submit applications to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for grant funding.
For the last decade, these grants included Housing First models, which prioritize finding permanent housing as the first step in addressing homelessness.
Last month that changed when HUD announced $3.9 billion in grants whose criteria moves away from housing first models and more toward transitional housing and treatment options.
In a normal year, the Northwest Michigan Coalition to End Homelessness gets $1.4 million from HUD, said coalition director Ashley Halladay-Schmandt. The money passes to coalition partners the Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency, Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing, and Goodwill Northern Michigan.
According to reporting from Politico, nearly nine out of ten program dollars scheduled to end in 2026 support permanent housing. The new HUD policy shift would cap that share at 30 percent.
Organizations can still apply for the rest of their funding, but now in a competitive national environment.
For one of the coalition's key partners, Northwest Michigan Supportive Housing (NMSH), those grants helped build infrastructure for 75 units of permanent housing with supportive services for those experiencing homelessness and mental illness.
Tenants pay 30% of their monthly income toward rent, but if they have no income when they enroll in the program, NMSH will cover the rent entirely while case managers work with tenants to gain income.
Now at least 20 of those units are at risk of losing funding, said NMSH director Becca Binder.
“Our primary goal is to pivot through either increased philanthropy and creative use of other state funds,” said Binder. “We are trying to ensure that these twenty households don't have to be unhoused and return to homelessness.”
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, HUD is also likely to scrutinize current NOFO grant recipients more closely, with potential penalties for organizations tied to harm-reduction practices like needle exchanges or safe injection sites.
“MNSH doesn't do any clean needle exchanges. It does include Narcan. It does include fentanyl testing kits,” said Binder. “It's also just working and advocating, working with our clients and the health care professionals to ensure that our clients are disclosing what any of their use is, so that they are being prescribed appropriate medicine.”
Organizations involved in perceived racial preference initiatives, or noncompliance with the requirement to acknowledge a “sex binary in humans” may also have penalties including reduced points or the denial of specific projects.
Currently, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and 20 other states are suing HUD over these same policies. That complaint was filed at the end of November.
