Housing is a central need that provides us a place to call home. In the cold winter months, it is more critical than ever to be safe from the weather, and for families with young children, housing contributes to a thriving future.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is instituting a cap in the FY2025 CoC Program NOFO (Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity of CoC NOFO) that will limit funding for permanent supportive housing nationally to just 30% of program funding - down from the current 87%.
Permanent supportive housing is an evidence-based approach to address homelessness by combining affordable housing with voluntary support services to help stabilize and move people out of homelessness.
This change alone will put 170,000+ formerly homeless people who are now stably housed nationwide at risk of losing their housing.
In Indiana, a large portion of homelessness services are supported through federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the CoC NOFO. This means the changes will significantly cut Indiana's critical funding for homelessness services such as permanent supportive housing. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the estimated loss of funds to Indiana Continuums of Care (including Marion CoC and the lager BOS CoC covering the 91 other counties) will lead to a projected loss of 2,707 permanent supportive housing spaces.
Hoosiers experiencing homelessness and or struggling to afford housing will be directly impacted, with effects rippling across our communities.
Now is the time for Hoosiers to stand by our values and support our neighbors.