The federal government's largest homelessness grant program is being redirected from permanent supportive housing toward transitional housing, treatment and services. The change is being challenged in court, but the money is moving anyway, because Congress requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development to award it by December 1.
How it got here
| Date (2026) | Event |
|---|---|
| June 1 | HUD issues its fiscal year 2026 Continuum of Care funding notice, about $4.04 billion, including a set-aside of about $1.3 billion for new transitional housing and supportive-services-only projects (Smart Cities Dive) |
| July 2 | National advocates and local governments sue |
| August 7 | A federal district court in Rhode Island sets the notice aside under the Administrative Procedure Act for lack of notice and comment (Public Rights Project) |
| August 14 | HUD appeals |
| September 11 | HUD publishes its changes for public comment, due October 13 (Community Solutions) |
| September 16 | The First Circuit allows HUD to proceed while the appeal is considered, citing the December 1 statutory award deadline |
| September 18 | HUD reopens the competition with a September 30 deadline (NACo) |
The two positions
HUD's Secretary has argued that Housing First, which places people in permanent housing without preconditions such as treatment participation, has not reduced homelessness, and that federal money should promote treatment, recovery and self-sufficiency. A HUD spokesperson has pointed to a 27 percent national rise in homelessness since the model was adopted. Advocates and the jurisdictions that sued argue that Housing First is supported by evidence, that the new criteria were adopted unlawfully, and that the shift endangers existing permanent housing. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has estimated that at least 97,000 people are at risk (CT Mirror).
The health stakes
AnalysisPermanent supportive housing is, in practice, part of the behavioral-health system. It is where many people with serious mental illness and substance-use disorders receive stable care. A shift toward time-limited transitional housing changes where clinical follow-up happens and how long it lasts. In Fresno County, clinicians should expect the effects to appear first in hospital discharges and street-medicine caseloads, well before they show up in any federal statistic.
What happens next
Public comments on HUD's changes close on October 13, 2026. HUD must make awards by December 1. The First Circuit will decide the appeal on its merits. This site will report what the Fresno–Madera Continuum of Care applied for and received when those decisions are public.