MN housing organizations say HUD cuts could double chronic homelessness

As the chief executive officer of Catholic Charities Twin Cities Jamie Verbrugge helps oversee small apartments tied to voluntary services aimed at helping previously-homeless residents stay housed such as wrap-around counseling advocacy for those with addiction and mental medical issues Verbrugge revealed of his tenants stick around or seek new apartments on their own rather than backsliding into the streets Of those units residences are largely funded by grants from the U S Department of Housing and Urban Progress which issued new conditions last week fundamentally altering access for permanent supportive housing dollars if not cutting them in half The new requirements heavily cap what percentage of each federal housing grant can fund such services which is poised to upend how various million in housing dollars are distributed statewide For Catholic Charities it s more than million that is in jeopardy right now noted Verbrugge who fears the federal executive s new emphasis on temporary transitional housing mandating work requirements and addiction restoration could leave families out on the street There s the dollars impact but we re also concerned about the human impact In a news release on the changes HUD administrators declared Roughly of the last four year s grants funneled funding to advocacy the failed Housing First ideology which encourages dependence on endless cabinet handouts while neglecting to address the root causes of homelessness including illicit drugs and mental illness The changes also increase competition for grants according to the HUD administrators while focusing on self-sufficiency and personal accountability A multitude of housing providers say they re incredulous chronically homeless residents will be able to make a lasting transition to stable housing that starts out heavy on expectations around work and medicine You re going to put people in encampments into housing with mandatory organization requirements stated Chris LaTondresse president and chief executive officer of the Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative one of the largest providers of permanent supportive housing statewide Housing groups members of Congress weigh in More than housing organizations from across Minnesota have come together in a letter to Congress asking federal lawmakers to walk back deep changes to million in statewide housing assistance they say could double chronic homelessness even as much of that funding is redirected toward two-year transitional housing Their alarm was echoed by U S Senate Democrats including both senators from Minnesota as well as Republican House members who lately circulated their own letter urging HUD to extend Continuum of Care funding expiring in by at least an additional year The Republicans include U S Rep Pete Stauber of Minnesota s Duluth-based th District Politico last week announced that HUD expects to award roughly housing grants totaling about billion a slight increase from the previous year s funding and a reflection of rising rent prices HUD s notice of funding opportunity recommends that organizations prioritize projects that provide healing and services people need to recover and regain self-sufficiency Nonprofit housing providers in Minnesota say the new HUD grant rules turn their Housing First strategy on its head million in funding For years leaders of charitable housing organizations such as Catholic Charities and the Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative have embraced a Housing First and Continuum of Care model that seeks to set up deeply affordable housing at all stages of need from urgency shelter and transitional housing to permanent supportive housing tied to voluntary services They ve prioritized getting the homeless housed even before steering them toward addiction and mental vitality recovery on the premise that residents are unlikely to succeed at healing without a roof over their head Minnesota s Continuums of Care received million in HUD funding last year with largest part of that money going toward deeply affordable housing and encouragement services for more than people including seniors veterans youth families and survivors of domestic violence The new rules stated by HUD last week impose a cap on funding for permanent supportive housing which could cut existing dollars in half by redirecting housing dollars toward other uses The Continuum of Care effort is the largest source of federal grant funds for providing a wide range of housing and services for individuals at hazard of homelessness reads a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner signed by U S Sen Tina Smith and U S Sen Amy Klobuchar as well as other Senate Democrats HUD s current path risks causing a dangerous spike in street homelessness by forcing nearly chronically homeless Americans with disabilities and families back onto the streets reads the letter which was issued last Thursday Reducing permanent supportive housing resources The cap is expected to reduce permanent supportive housing financing nationally from billion to billion Expressing fear that could leave people who were previously homeless back on the streets Beacon Interfaith s LaTondresse called the changes the bulk devastating housing cuts in modern U S history The scale and speed of HUD s cuts and rule changes place Minnesotans who have overcome homelessness at immediate peril leave communities with zero time to plan and reverse decades of bipartisan progress on proven solutions to homelessness revealed LaTondresse in a written report last week His organization in newest weeks had already lost access to two major federal grants totaling million for permanent supportive housing in Richfield and Maplewood Supportive housing works LaTondresse declared It saves lives saves taxpayer dollars and reflects the best of who we are Protect what works Other changes to HUD funding also reported last week could pose additional limitations to homelessness prevention according to housing providers Base funding for housing interventions known as Tier patronage is dropping from to of each public s annual allocation freeing up more discretionary funds for the Trump administration s pilot programs around housing while forcing providers to apply for dollars that comply with executive orders on immigration inhabitants camping bans and gender-related guidelines compliance Calling on Congress and HUD to rethink its strategy faith leaders plan to join residents and housing providers on Nov in a -hour overnight vigil dubbed Losing Sleep Losing Home at a congregation in Minneapolis Details are still being sorted LaTondresse announced Related Articles Stillwater Region Thread s Holiday Hope activity again expects high demand MN foundations group launches M housing stability initiative UMN Board of Regents U physicians group acted unlawfully in reaching Fairview deal What to know about two holiday tree lightings in downtown St Paul Como Zoo s -year-old zebra Ulysses has died administrators stated