CEO Corner:
Week of May 19

Welcome to another installment of the CEO Corner! Here’s what’s happened in the past week, and what’s on the Alliance’s radar in the near future.

CoC Builds NOFO Reissued

Late last week, the Alliance learned that the Continuum of Care (CoC) Builds Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been reissued, which provides funding for selected communities to build additional Permanent Supportive Housing.

While communities who previously submitted an application must revise and resubmit it, we are relieved that this critical funding opportunity is moving forward.

Here are our top takeaways from the reissued NOFO:

• The “Experience Promoting Racial Equity” rating factor, worth 8 points, has been eliminated and redistributed to other factors.

• Up to 2 preference points have been added for proposed activities within an Opportunity Zone.

• Eligible activities introduced in the FY 2023 CoC Program NOFO — VAWA and rural budget line items — are allowable under the revised NOFO.

Please review the FAQs or submit questions regarding this NOFO to CoCBuilds@hud.gov. Applications are due by June 26, 2025 at 8pm Eastern Time. 

Executive Order on Veteran Homelessness

Earlier this month, the White House released a new Executive Order (EO), Keeping Promises to Veterans and Establishing a National Center for Warrior Independence, which directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate the West Los Angeles VA Campus as a centralized place where homeless veterans can receive the care, benefits, and services to which they are entitled. It further directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and HUD to support these efforts. 

The Alliance is tracking this EO and related actions very closely. We remain committed to ending veteran homelessness in the United States and hope that the Administration will continue to build on the progress made over the last 15 years. Successful federal programing has resulted in more than 120,000 permanent housing placements between 2022 and 2024, and a 7% decline in veteran homelessness between 2023 and 2024. Since 2010, homelessness among veterans has declined by more than 50%.

Updates on the FY2026 Federal Budget Process

As early as this week, the administration will release its full budget request: a follow up to the “skinny” budget proposal released earlier this month. This means that we’ll have a deeper, more detailed understanding of what program cuts may be on the table, and by what amounts.

At the same time, both the House and Senate are at the beginning of their own processes to develop and pass appropriations bills for all discretionary funding.

The rest of the federal budget process is done through a budget resolution process: specifically, the budget resolution targets reductions in mandatory spending–including the Medicaid and SNAP programs in order to pay for large tax cuts.

Last week, House Republicans marked up and passed through committees bills that will significantly impact the already-limited social safety net. Without changes, at least 13.7 million people would lose health coverage through Medicaid and become uninsured.

Emergency Housing Vouchers 

The Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program has provided life-saving assistance to more than 70,000 households experiencing or at risk of homelessness and fleeing domestic violence. These vouchers helped house people more quickly than any other new HUD voucher program.

However, the program received only a set amount of funding and has used it up faster than expected. , particularly for people receiving low wages. Absent additional funding, more than 59,000 households across every state are at risk of becoming homeless.

The Alliance, along with our partners at the National Housing Law Project, the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, have developed a mobilization toolkit to help our partners in the field advocate against funding cuts and EHV funding cliff.

• EHV Funding Cliff Mobilization Toolkit – May 2025

Bright Spots This Week

Despite the challenges we continue to face, there are some exciting glimmers to celebrate:

• Renee M. Willis has been named President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). Renee has been a long-time partner of the Alliance and we are excited to continue partnering with her as NLIHC’s leader.

• The notice to CoC Builds applicants indicated that an additional $100 million of FY 2024 CoC Builds Funds will become available through a separate competitive NOFO in the coming months.

We at the Alliance remain deeply grateful for your efforts as we navigate these uncertain times together. If your community has questions or if you’re seeking information from the Alliance, please send an email to info@naeh.org with the subject line “FIELD INFO REQUEST.”