HUD Overhauls Federal Homelessness Assistance
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $4.04 billion to better serve America’s vulnerable populations through the Continuum of Care (CoC) homelessness assistance program.
“The ‘housing first’ experiment failed Americans by warehousing the vulnerable without results. This ideology promised to end homelessness. Instead, billions of taxpayer dollars were spent while homelessness increased to record levels. Housing alone will not solve a crisis driven by addiction and mental illness. Under President Trump’s leadership, HUD is making necessary reforms to put recovery first,” said Secretary Scott Turner.
The Fiscal Year 2026 HUD CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO):
Invests in recovery and self-sufficiency:
This record level of funding is available to communities across the nation to address the root causes of homelessness.
HUD will support organizations that facilitate treatment and recovery and prohibit funding the widespread use of illicit drugs and distribution of paraphernalia. The status quo perpetuates addiction in taxpayer-funded homelessness assistance programs in violation of Federal law.
HUD is making resources available for housing assistance paired with wraparound services to advance recovery and self-sufficiency for homeless Americans. This includes a $1.3 billion investment in new projects, with a priority for Transitional Housing and Supportive Service projects.
Advances outcomes through competition:
This is the most competitive funding opportunity in the history of the CoC program.
By returning the program’s focus to solutions and performance, this NOFO requires CoC recipients to scrutinize and prioritize the most successful projects rather than automatically renewing funding to failed providers.
Roots out waste, fraud, and abuse:
To better steward American tax dollars, this NOFO ties funding to performance. This ends a lack of program accountability that has led to waste, fraud, and abuse instead of providing assistance to homeless individuals.
Find the NOFO here. HUD encourages new applicants. Learn more about the CoC program here
HUD Releases 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress
The Point-In-Time Count Report Shows Homelessness Increased During Decade of “Housing First” Policies
WASHINGTON – HUD today released the 2025 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report: Part 1: Point-in-Time (PIT) Estimates, which found that 745,652 people were homeless, including 266,320 people living on the street on a single night in January 2025 – a 27% increase since 2013 and a 3% decrease since 2024, attributable to decreases in Sanctuary Cities.
“The data is clear that the status quo of ‘housing first’ has failed to meaningfully reduce homelessness, resulting in crisis levels of people living on the streets,” said Secretary Scott Turner. “HUD is restoring its programs to advance recovery and self-sufficiency and to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits serve American families.”
Key findings:
- 745,652 individuals were homeless on a single night in January 2025
- 266,320 individuals were living unsheltered on a single night in January 2025
- 1,456,923 individuals were either homeless or living in taxpayer subsidized/funded housing for the homeless
- Between 2013 and 2025:
- Homelessness increased 27%
- Unsheltered homelessness increased 36%
- Chronic homelessness increased 81%
- Taxpayer funded beds increased 151%
- Continuum of Care (CoC) spending increased 111%
HUD used 2013 as a baseline for long-term trend comparisons because that period marked the beginning of “Housing First” policy changes within HUD homelessness programs.
Point-in-Time counts do not include people living in taxpayer-funded housing assistance for the homeless.
Read the full report here.