May 5, 2025, Washington, D.C. — The National Alliance to End Homelessness today urged Congress to reject President Trump’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026. This budget request aims to broadly slash funding for critical programs that local homelessness response systems rely on to prevent and end homelessness. If enacted, this budget would undoubtedly result in further increases in homelessness across the nation.
“Between 2023 and 2024, homelessness increased by 18 percent, yet this proposal would strip funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s homelessness programs by 12 percent. That is a recipe for disaster,” said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. “We know that these programs have been chronically underfunded for decades. This proposal represents the single greatest retreat from the federal government’s responsibility to end homelessness since the passage of the McKinney-Vento Act.”
The Alliance is alarmed at the President’s overall budget proposal, which seeks to significantly reduce or eliminate programs that make up the nation’s scant social safety net. Of greatest concern to the Alliance are sweeping changes to HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants.
- Reduction: The president’s budget proposal seeks to reduce the overall amount of funding available for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants by $532 million from FY25’s amount.
- Consolidation: It proposes consolidating the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program—along with Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)—into the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program. The CoC Program represents the federal government’s key vehicle for distributing homelessness funds. The proposed consolidation would effectively eliminate funding for critical activities, including Permanent Supportive Housing, Coordinated Entry, and overall Continuum of Care planning.
- Formulation: It shifts the awarded funds from a competitive application to a set block grant, using a formula that does not account for renewal demand. This change would place thousands of projects and the hundreds of thousands of people they serve at risk. While block granting can reduce some administrative burdens, it also decreases transparency in how federal funds are utilized. This can reduce the drive for effectiveness and efficiency that is prioritized in the competitive process.
“The Continuum of Care program has had bipartisan support since it was authorized and made permanent by Congress more than fifteen years ago. Congress has never before threatened this program, and only Congress can decide the future of its funding,” said Oliva. “We urgently remind Members of Congress that eliminating this program would have dramatic impacts on what housing and service interventions are available to those with the greatest needs in their communities – communities both red and blue, urban and rural.”
The Projected Impact
Alliance leaders noted that this budget would effectively end funding for more than 166,000 units of Permanent Supportive Housing, a proven intervention for serving people with disabilities who have experienced chronic patterns of homelessness prior to being housed. Many would be made homeless once again if Permanent Supportive Housing were defunded.
If enacted, the president’s budget request would also worsen exiting disparities. Homelessness does not impact all populations the same way: some people or groups are more likely to become homeless than others, including older adults, people with disabilities, gay or transgender youth, people living in rural communities, and specific racial and ethnic groups. These groups are often situated further away from opportunity, including having a safe place to call home, and do not always get a fair shot. This budget proposal will undoubtedly have a disproportionate impact on these groups.
The proposal is also at stark odds with public opinion. Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of respondents to a 2024 Morning Consult poll believe that homeless services organizations lack the resources to make the needed impact. Moreover, 75 percent agreed with the statement that homelessness is solvable, but it requires a level of leadership and investments that elected officials are hesitant to make. Dismantling and defunding these programs is likely to only compound public frustration with Congress’ commitment to funding the providers in their communities.
“To be sure, the federal government – when partnered with national experts, local communities, and people with lived experience of homelessness – has a central role in making federal homelessness programs more innovative and effective,” said Oliva. “This proposal, however, is neither innovative nor effective. It is a dismantling of established systems and programs without adequate analysis of the consequences to human life and community health. We call on Members of Congress to reject this proposal.”
About the National Alliance to End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States. As a leading voice on the issue of homelessness, the Alliance analyzes policy and develops pragmatic, cost-effective solutions; works collaboratively with the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to build state and local capacity; and provides data and research to policymakers and elected officials in order to inform policy debates and educate the public and opinion leaders nationwide.
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