A federal funding policy change that was announced in November could cause thousands of Ohioans to return to homelessness.
The Trump Administration announced a Competition Notice of Funding Opportunity through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The NOFO promotes the self-sufficiency of vulnerable Americans and limits the funding for housing support programs from 87% to 30%, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.
The NOFO grants $3.9 billion to redirect funding to transitional housing and supportive services, “ending the status quo that perpetuated homelessness through a self-sustaining slush fund,” according to a news release.
The goal of the NOFO, according to the news release, ultimately aims to increase competition for grants to better system efficiencies and spur innovation, promote public safety through thoughtful collaborations with law enforcement, focus on self-sufficiency, foster personal accountability via enhanced treatment requirements to fight the Fentanyl crisis and prohibit illegal discrimination based on race or against faith-based organizations.
“This announcement, with support from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and Pastor Paula White, Senior Advisor of the White House Faith Office, represents the most significant policy reforms and changes in the program’s history,” the news release states.
During former President Joe Biden’s term, the Continuum of Care program had policies uplifting the “housing first” ideology, focusing less on the criteria and requirements of tenants and organizations, the news release said.
Competition-based funding requires recipients to send proposals detailing how they meet the criteria to the grantor. According to the news release, the Biden Administration challenged 10% of the projects funded by the CoC program, while the other referrals had been accepted in the past and renewed without updating the application submission.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner plans to compete with 70% of the organizations in an effort to ensure the CoC Program supports the most effective housing facilities.
“Our philosophy for addressing the homelessness crisis will now define success not by dollars spent or housing units filled, but by how many people achieve long-term self-sufficiency and recovery,” Turner said in the news release.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said he has not seen any significant change in the homelessness rate within the city since his move to Athens in 1998.
Patterson mentioned the organizations helping the homeless population in Athens, including Timothy House, Good Works, multiple churches and the Hocking Athens Perry Community Action.
HAPCAP focuses on keeping people housed through home repair, affordable housing programs and a new project to provide a housing facility. The Sunset Shelter Project sets out to rehabilitate a former motel on Columbus Road into a temporary living space, funded by the Ohio Department of Development.
The Associated Press reported Friday that President Donald Trump has signed two orders in an effort to make homes more affordable. The importance of home ownership in the U.S. is pronounced by the administration's orders, which will reduce regulatory burdens for the federal government and mortgages.
Patterson mentioned the affordable housing crisis happening not only nationally, but internationally. During a visit, Patterson said he saw Germany has been facing similar issues as the U.S.
“We're doing some creative things with the ‘Welcome Home Ohio’ grant that we received, which is going to be such a small, small addition of housing stock in Athens," Patterson said. “At the end of the day, it'll be eight houses that are priced at $180,000, which is still expensive, but far less expensive than our median price for homes in Athens as they exist right now.”
The root causes of homelessness, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are drug use and mental health. Transitional housing and supportive services are more agreeable to the Trump administration's ideologies than long-term housing facilities.
Ginger Schmalenberg is the executive director of The Gathering Place, a nonresidential community program for adults who have experienced trauma, mental illness, addiction or other mental health issues in Athens, according to its website.
The Gathering Place is not funded by the government, rather by Sisters Health Foundation, a non-profit organization, Schmalenburg said. The Conestoga Huts project, a recent addition to the organization, is funded by Medicaid Reinvestment funds. The project creates livable spaces for those seeking help from The Gathering Place.
“Some of these individuals just happen to be unhoused, but majority of those we serve are in stable housing and services and The Gathering Place is their social community where they take part in daily programming of educational, recreational, or support groups,” Schmalenburg wrote in an email. “Those who we serve that are unhoused appreciate and are grateful for our basic need services of shower and laundry services, resources of clothing and other outdoor survival items and daily meals and our linkages to other organizations that do provide opportunity of housing programs.”
Not only will organizations need further verification to receive funding, but HUD has required that Public Housing Authorities verify the citizenship and immigration status of tenants.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Homeland Security found 200,000 tenants required verification, 6,000 tenants were ineligible “non-American” and nearly 25,000 deceased tenants. The “American Housing Programs for American Citizens” Memorandum of Understanding supports the American-first ideology, signed by Secretary Scott Turner and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
“If your whole thing is America first, then why are we bombing the hell out of Iran right now, and repeatedly?” Patterson said.
Patterson said the war in the Middle East is costing the U.S. taxpayers around five to 12 billion dollars.
“How wonderful would it be if those billions and billions of dollars were going into programs that are going to truly help you?” Patterson said.
