The Trump administration is significantly slashing permanent housing funding for unsheltered people in the coming year in favor of transitional housing and treatment programs. Many public health experts say the move will be detrimental to people in tenuous living situations and put enormous strain on local resources in Maryland.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care Program will significantly lower its grant allocations for permanent housing from 87% to 30% nationwide. HUD estimated the move could put as many as 170,000 out on the street, according to internal documents obtained by POLITICO.
“We’re going to see increases in emergency department visits, increases in hospitalizations, increases in incarceration, all of these things cost money,” said Kevin Lindamood, president and CEO of Healthcare for the Homeless, an organization that provides care to people without housing. “This policy really doesn’t save resources as much as it shifts resources around.”
