The Trump administration issued plans for a shift in homelessness policy that would slash support for long-term housing programs and move away from a Housing First approach.

The new Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidance will govern more than $3.9 billion in Continuum of Care funds, the main source of federal money for homelessness.

Why it’s important: Critics say it could place as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people at risk of returning to the streets.

While President Trump has long pledged to pursue tougher homelessness policies, the document outlines changes that go deeper and faster than expected.
The notice implements the President’s vision outlined in the executive order issued in July, which promoted camping bans and involuntary treatment, while criticizing harm reduction efforts.
Evidence shows that Housing First approaches are effective, while involuntary treatment often is not.

The details:

The plan cuts aid for permanent housing by two-thirds next year.
The notice gives funding priority to programs that require services like substance use treatment as a condition of housing, that impose work rules, and that help in the enforcement of camping bans. It also steers funding to areas that pass and enforce those bans.
It also includes other requirements that shift money away from the local groups that administer the funds to a nationally competitive pool, over which the administration would have greater sway.