Connecticut and New York are joining dozens of states in a lawsuit against the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development over funding for permanent housing projects.
The lawsuit is over HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which funds housing and other services for people experiencing homelessness.
In the past, the majority of the money has been used for permanent housing projects. Last month, HUD proposed — for a second time — capping the amount of money that can be used for the permanent projects.
Attorneys general for Connecticut and New York said the cap would result in tens of thousands of evictions — and leave state and local government to pick up the pieces.
The AGs won a similar lawsuit against HUD last month that would have restricted cash for permanent housing projects.
The original lawsuit was filed over a 30% cap on CoC funding. The current suit is over a $1.3 billion set-aside fund for transitional, rather than permanent, housing.
“Trump tried to impose drastic, cruel conditions on homelessness funding that would have thrown thousands of people out of their homes and onto the streets. We sued, we won, but now Trump is back at it again. His cruelty truly has no bounds. We are heading back to court, and we will keep fighting for as long as it takes to protect safe and stable housing,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D-CT) said.
HUD officials said the cap would allow them to shift money towards transitional housing and programs with work requirements.
“It is critical we focus on real solutions that lift Americans out of homelessness,” HUD Secretary Scott Turner said at a recent White House summit on addiction and homelessness. “We must abandon the failed ‘Housing First’ policies that have misused taxpayer-funded resources without any expectation of results and too often leave individuals trapped in addiction, untreated mental illness, and indefinite dependence on government systems. HUD will promote treatment, recovery, and self-sufficiency.”
Twenty-one states are involved in the lawsuit.
