Representative Greg Stanton (D-AZ) has called on the Department of Housing and Urban Development to reverse new guidance that could significantly reduce housing funding for Maricopa County's residents.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently changed its funding rules, limiting money for permanent supportive housing to just 30% of total awards. This shift threatens to reduce federal support for Maricopa County by more than half, potentially eliminating $32 million in funding and up to 1,388 housing units.
"With this shift, the Trump administration is abandoning decades of evidence-based policy," Stanton wrote in a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
The change affects Housing First programs, which provide homeless individuals with housing along with support services like mental health and substance abuse treatment.
Current Budget
Currently, 81% of Maricopa County's $53 million Continuum of Care budget is allocated to these permanent supportive housing programs. Research shows Housing First programs reduce homelessness by 88% compared to Treatment First approaches that require people to complete treatment before receiving housing.
Stanton highlighted that the policy change creates challenges beyond funding reductions.
He wrote that "the sudden and significant changes to longstanding federal policy represent a near-unworkable challenge to local governments, as well as housing developers and investors." The uncertainty could delay funding and affect private affordable housing developers.
The new guidance also reduces guaranteed baseline funding from 90% to 30%, making it difficult for communities to plan long-term housing strategies.
Potential Impact
Maricopa Association of Governments, which manages the county's Continuum of Care, is still calculating the full impact of these changes.
"Behind every number in a grant line item is a human being, someone who has overcome great adversity to achieve stability," Stanton stated. "These vulnerable Americans now risk eviction and a slide back into homelessness, undoing years of hard-won progress. They deserve far better from their government."
Stanton has requested that HUD reject the guidance and return to the previous funding framework.
