The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is inviting applications for a $4.04 billion funding program aimed at tackling homelessness, overhauling the program by ditching “Housing First” policies, and tying future funding to performance.
Earlier homeless assistance programs focused on Housing First policies, under which the priority was to grant homeless people immediate access to permanent housing without any preconditions. However, this was largely unsuccessful, according to HUD.
Chronic homelessness rose by 81 percent despite taxpayer-funded beds jumping by 151 percent between 2013, when Housing First policy changes began within HUD’s homelessness programs, and 2025, the department said last month.
The latest $4.04 billion Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), issued for the Continuum of Care (CoC) homelessness assistance program for fiscal year 2026, shifts away from Housing First policies and focuses on ensuring that those receiving housing assistance take part in drug treatment programs, HUD said in a June 1 statement….