The federal government does not allocate nearly enough funding to meet the nationwide demand for permanent housingPermanent Housing in this context refers to Permanent Supportive Housing, Rapid Re-Housing, or Other Permanent Housing as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Currently available units may not be accessible to people in need. Thus, actual capacity in a given location may be even lower.. On the day of the 2024 Point-in-Time Count, there was only enough permanent housing available to house 8 percent of people experiencing homelessness in the United States. (see chart below)
Federal investments in the Continuum of Care (CoC) ProgramThe Continuum of Care program funds Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Re-Housing. can help to close this gap, as they did from 2019–2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government increased emergency resources to homeless services and the response system’s permanent housing capacity increased significantly: from 5.8 percent capacity in 2020 to 12 percent capacity in 2022. This was especially true in certain states that rely more on federal funds; however, the increase in capacity ended with the expiration of federal funds.
As Congress currently considers funding levels for FY2026, they must maximize investments in the CoC program, which helps to fund permanent units in the homelessness response system. More information can be found in the Alliance’s FY2026 Federal Budget Resources Series and by signing up for the Alliance’s advocacy alerts.
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