Trump administration plans mass firing at office that funds homelessness programs

The federal office that funds housing and other support for homeless people across the country is slated to shrink dramatically, a prospect that advocates warn would make record-high homelessness even worse.

The Office of Community Planning and Development, within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is slated to lose 84% of its staff, according to a document seen by NPR. That target is the deepest of any office in the agency.

"That proposed cut is massive. And the potential for adverse impact at the community level and at the national level is also massive," said Ann Oliva, who spent a decade at HUD and is now CEO at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

The same office also funds disaster recovery and programs that help local communities build affordable housing.

Overall, Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, an entity known as DOGE and overseen by Elon Musk, plans to reduce HUD's staffing by about half.

The Community Planning and Development office at HUD disburses more than $3.6 billion in federal funding for rental assistance, mental health and substance use treatment, and outreach to try and get those living outside into shelter or housing. It's the "backbone" of local communities' response to homelessness, Oliva said, "in blue states and red states alike."

Cutting so much staff would mean firing not only people at headquarters in Washington, D.C., but also those in field offices around the country, she said. And that means it would likely take longer to get funding to the thousands of local nonprofits who provide housing and other support.

"Grants need to be processed," said one HUD employee, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. They said the prospect of major staff cuts, combined with deferred resignations, are a "huge worry" that threatens to disrupt work.

So far, HUD has not addressed such concerns in detail.

"HUD is following direction from the administration while also ensuring the department continues to deliver on its critical functions," a HUD spokesperson said in a statement. They said that includes the agency's "mission to serve rural, tribal and urban communities and statutory responsibilities."

There's concern about whether homelessness funding will be sent out as usual

The Biden administration approved the next wave of homelessness funding in its last days in power in January. The money has not yet been distributed. Advocates say it could be taking longer simply because of the transition to a new administration. But there's also worry that it's more than that.

In late January, the Trump administration issued a memo freezing spending on federal loans and grants. That was rescinded, and then paused in court after a legal challenge, but a federal judge found some funds were still frozen.

A lawsuit challenging the freeze noted that many local nonprofits that partner with federal agencies rely heavily on government funding, and the loss of it could be devastating. In a recent memo, the National Council of Nonprofits said many groups were still having trouble accessing funds, "causing them to stop programs, furlough employees, and question multi-year budgets."

"I'm increasingly concerned that money is paused in a way that's illegal," said Peggy Bailey, a former senior adviser at HUD who's now with the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

She also said this pause, and the proposed staff cuts, appear to be part of a larger push to shrink HUD. Republicans in Congress have proposed major budget cuts for the agency. The conservative agenda laid out by Trump allies in Project 2025 calls for moving some HUD functions to other agencies, states or localities.

Republicans want to change how federal homelessness funding is spent

There's also been growing Republican opposition to the way federal homelessness funding is spent.

Current longtime bipartisan policy prioritizes getting people into housing and then providing support for those who want addiction or mental health treatment. Supporters say it has a proven track record of keeping people off the street.

But Republicans argue that this policy, or what's called Housing First, has actually made homelessness worse.

Project 2025 calls for ending it. The Cicero Institute, a conservative Texas think tank founded by a Trump ally, has been pushing states to require substance abuse and mental health treatment as a condition for federally funded housing. Researchers at the conservative Manhattan Institute recently proposed shifting homelessness funding to a block-grant system, giving states greater control over how to spend it.

Whatever happens, advocate Ann Oliva said this is a crucial time for tackling homelessness. A record number of people in the U.S. struggle to afford rent or mortgage. And she would expect that number to rise if the office in charge of homelessness prevention was effectively gutted.

"Possibly, construction would stop on affordable housing that's already in the pipeline," she said. "Ultimately, I think the risk is that we will see people falling into homelessness even quicker than we've already seen over the last few years."

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