Action Alert from NAEH

Please see below for an Action Alert from our partners at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

Less than two weeks ago, HUD announced nearly $3.6 billion in Continuum of Care (CoC) Program awards for nearly 7,000 projects across the country to organizations that provide life-saving and critical housing assistance and supportive services. These programs cover virtually every community within every state. Although a judge on Friday night issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) - a move that prevents a blanket pause of federal financial assistance - the FY2024 CoC funding is still at extreme risk. 

Most of the funding that was just announced sustains programs that currently assist people who would otherwise be homeless; this funding is set to expire soon. 

While the Temporary Restraining Order was a victory in the fight against last week’s “pause” of federal financial assistance, there is one line that has us on edge:

Agencies may exercise their own authority to pause awards or obligations, provided agencies do so purely based on their own discretion—not as a result of the OMB Memo or the President’s Executive Orders… 

Implications 



This means THE DOOR IS STILL OPEN TO PAUSE HOMELESSNESS FUNDING. If this were to happen, CoC-funded organizations will have extreme difficulty serving the tens of thousands of people being housed and supported through these programs. CoC Program funding is the primary source of funding to address homelessness in many communities. 

ACT NOW!

We need Congress to urge HUD to not to delay getting these critical funds out to the communities that need them. Equally important is for HUD to keep in place the 2-year Notice of Funding Opportunity cycle that Congress fought so hard to pass with bipartisan support in FY2024 for both FY2024 and FY2025 funding.  



We need YOUR voice to tell Congress how critical these funds are to your community and what the impact your community will feel if the funding is unnecessarily delayed for any period of time

3 KEY WAYS TO ADVOCATE TODAY: 

Call your lawmakers’ D.C. offices 

• The Capitol Hill switchboard is (202) 224-3121. A switchboard operator will connect you directly with the House or Senate office you request. Don’t know what to say? Please use this script or change it to convey your own message.   

• “I’m concerned about the risk to the FY2024 CoC Program funding for homelessness programs. We know that the dedicated career staff at HUD are working hard to process this funding and get money out the door, but just late Friday, a judge recognized that agencies can still exercise their own authority to pause awards or obligations based on their own discretion. Any disruptions to this funding will be catastrophic to the organizations that rely on this funding to make rent payments and provide services, and for frontline staff who will likely miss their pay. Please urge HUD to promptly finish processing FY24 CoC homelessness funding and distribute these precious dollars to homeless services providers across the nation. Please also use this as an opportunity to urge HUD to honor the 2-year Notice of Funding Opportunity for FY2024 and FY2025 funding that both parties in Congress fought so hard to secure! At a time when the numbers of people experiencing and vulnerable to homelessness have never been higher, now is no time for critically needed funds to sit idle in Washington.” 

• Please be sure to provide your name and address so the staff know you are a constituent, take you seriously, and will send you a written response.  

Fill out the Alliance’s online advocacy form. Enter your name, address, and email address, and a sample message will be sent to your Members of Congress. Please customize this email if possible!

Send a personalized email to your lawmaker’s office: 

• If you already have a staff contact or email address for your Member of Congress' office, please email them directly instead of using the form. Lawmakers are more likely to pay attention to emails that include personal details. Create your own e-mail using the information provided in this message and customize it with specific details on potential impact for your organization and community.  
• Please be sure to provide your name and address so the staff know you are a constituent, take you seriously, and will send you a written response.  

Please share this alert with any and all colleagues who can help us reach out to Congress, including staff, volunteers, board members, CoC leads, and any local or state elected officials that you are in touch with. 

Just like more than 11,000 of you did with your advocacy last week, we can pressure Congress to push back on the Trump Administration's actions that will cause immediate harm for millions of Americans. 

Ann Oliva

CEO 

National Alliance to End Homelessness

As we learn more, we will keep an updated resource guide at cceh.org.