Needlessly putting American families at risk\u00a0<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development\u2019s (HUD) released new cruel funding provisions in its 2025 Continuum of Care (CoC) notice of funding opportunity. These changes include a number of arbitrary and senseless new rules that will disadvantage and defund housing programs with a proven record of success in addressing homelessness and will have devastating consequences for communities in California and across the country.<\/p>\n
Specifically, the federal government is now imposing a cap on permanent housing restricts CoCs to using only 30% of funds for permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing. Last year, California CoCs were awarded more than $683 million in CoC funding, approximately 90 percent of which went to permanent housing projects. The new rules would gut funding for those projects,\u00a0 which currently keep tens of thousands of people housed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
These cuts would not only threaten housing for older adults, families with children, veterans, people with disabilities, transition-aged youth, and people served by Medi-Cal, CalFresh, CalWORKs, and foster care systems \u2014 they would also undermine the goals of the California Statewide Action Plan<\/a>, including reducing unsheltered homelessness and increasing permanent housing placements, housing retention, prevention, and production.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder both Democratic and Republican presidents, HUD\u2019s Continuum of Care Program has helped states, local governments, and nonprofit organizations combat homelessness and provide safe, stable housing to our most vulnerable residents. This program has proven to be effective at getting Americans off the streets, yet the Trump Administration is now attempting to illegally slash its funding,\u201d said Attorney General Bonta. \u201cAs a result, for the 47th time in 44 weeks, I\u2019m taking President Trump to court. Those caring for our unhoused neighbors need the federal government\u2019s continued support. Absent judicial intervention, the Trump Administration\u2019s actions would only worsen the homelessness crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuts not authorized by Congress<\/p>\n HUD\u2019s cuts put tens of thousands of Californians at risk of losing their homes and access to vital services. These abrupt cuts impact previously funded projects in the middle of a two-year funding cycle. The lawsuit argues that the changes are illegal because they alter funding eligibility without authorization by Congress and are not supported by evidence or reason.<\/p>\n The Trump administration\u2019s actions are contrary to Congress\u2019 stated goals that the funds be used for proven strategies to address homelessness, including California\u2019s Housing First policy and permanent supportive housing programs which have proven successful. These shifts not only threaten existing programs \u2014 they jeopardize the braided system of federal, state, and local investments that keep California\u2019s homelessness response viable.<\/p>\n \u201cPermanent and supportive housing is central to addressing homelessness and helping bring stability into people\u2019s lives,\u201d said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Secretary Tomiquia Moss. \u201cThe federal government\u2019s sudden and cruel changes to how nonprofits and community organizations can access funding threatens to undo years of progress and puts more than 170,000 people nationwide at risk. Here in California, we\u2019re pushing back on this attempt to deprive vulnerable Californians of a place to call home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s proposed cuts would worsen the homelessness crisis by pulling funding from permanent housing and putting tens of thousands of Californians at risk,\u201d said California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) Secretary Kim Johnson. \u201cThis would undo years of progress and destabilize our neighbors who finally found a safe place to live and stability. It\u2019s harmful policy that will lead to devastating health outcomes. California will continue championing permanent, person-centered solutions that strengthen, not weaken, our response to homelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n California\u2019s strategy works<\/p>\n President Trump\u2019s cruel policies fly in the face of strategies that are proven to work. From the very first moments of the Newsom administration, the national crisis of housing and homelessness \u2013 which were decades in the making \u2013 has been addressed with ingenuity, seriousness, and expertise. No other state has devoted as much time and attention to these twin problems \u2013 and California is a leader in producing positive results. Governor Newsom is creating a structural and foundational model for America:<\/p>\n \u2705 Addressing mental health and its impact on homelessness \u2014 Ending a long-standing 7,000 behavioral health bed shortfall in California by rapidly expanding community treatment centers and permanent supportive housing units. In 2024, voters approved Governor Newsom\u2019s Proposition 1<\/a> which is transforming California\u2019s mental health systems with a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond for treatment settings and housing with services for veterans and people experiencing homelessness, and reforming the Behavioral Health Services Act to focus on people with the most serious illnesses, provide care to people with substance disorders, and support their housing needs.<\/p>\n \u2705 Creating new pathways for those who need the most help \u2014 Updating conservatorship laws<\/a> for the first time in 50 years to include people who are unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care, in addition to food, clothing, or shelter, due to either severe substance use disorder or serious mental health illness. Creating a new CARE court system<\/a> that creates court-ordered plans for up to 24 months for people struggling with untreated mental illness, and often substance use challenges.<\/p>\n \u2705 Streamlining and prioritizing building of new housing \u2014 Governor Newsom made creating more housing a state priority for the first time in history. He has signed into law groundbreaking reforms to break down systemic barriers that have stood in the way of building the housing<\/a> Californians need, including broad CEQA reforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2705 Creating shelter and support \u2014 Providing funding and programs for local governments<\/a>, coupled with strong accountability measures to ensure that each local government<\/a> is doing its share to build housing, and create shelter and support, so that people living in encampments<\/a> have a safe place to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2705 Removing dangerous encampments \u2014 Governor Newsom has set a strong expectation for all local governments to address encampments in their communities and help connect people with support<\/a>. In 2024, Governor Newsom filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court defending communities\u2019 authority to clear encampments<\/a>. After the Supreme Court affirmed local authority, Governor Newsom issued an executive order<\/a> directing state entities and urging local governments to clear encampments and connect people with support, using a state-tested model that helps ensure encampments are addressed humanely and people are given adequate notice and support.\u00a0<\/p>\n Reversing a decades-in-the-making crisis<\/p>\n