Sweeping changes announced by the Trump administration for a federal program meant to help homeless people are being met with stiff opposition from Senate Democrats, including John Fetterman, who fear new rules could force nearly 200,000 Americans back on the streets.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development last week announced new limits and requirements to funding for the Continuum of Care, the largest source of federal grant money for people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The changes include prioritizing programs that mandate mental health or addiction treatment and capping how much funding can go to long-term housing.

The $3.9 billion funding pot is distributed to state, county and municipal governments nationwide.

Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services receives nearly $30 million a year.

The Trump administration announced a sweeping overhaul of how it will reallocate funds for housing and the homeless, triggering concerns that it could lead to more people living on the street.

The changes involve $3.9 billion in funds previously used to place people in permanent… pic.twitter.com/eNf1eLnKXO

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That includes about 80% of the department’s funding for permanent housing programs, the county department said. About 2,000 people in Allegheny County currently benefit from such housing.

County officials could not immediately say what kind of local impacts could result from the federal changes.

But Democratic senators in a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner lambasted the new regulations and expressed “deep concerns” about destabilizing the country’s homeless support system. They argued the changes would force seniors, people with disabilities and veterans back to the streets.

“HUD’s current path risks causing a dangerous spike in street homelessness and creating chaos in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike by forcing nearly 200,000 chronically homeless Americans with disabilities and families back onto the streets,” the letter said.

The senators criticized the “arbitrary cap” on the amount of funds that can be used for permanent housing.

Currently, 87% of Continuum of Care funding supports permanent housing. Under the new plan, only 30% could be allocated to such uses.

Such a limit undermines local officials’ decision-making, according to the senators, and “ignores decades of research that has proven that permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing are less costly and more likely to be successful in providing long-term stability than other strategies.”

In a statement, the National Low Income Housing Coalition pointed out that new scoring criteria for the grants will prioritize programs that align with an executive order President Donald Trump signed that calls for mandating work requirements and banning homeless camps.

The changes, the group said, “signal a fundamental shift in homelessness policy away from effective, humane approaches and toward wasteful cruelty and criminalization.”

The organization cited studies that showed an 88% decline in homelessness under a housing-first model that prioritizes giving people safe housing and offering additional services on a voluntary basis.

By comparison, the data showed a 41% reduction in homelessness under models that require people accept services — like mental health or addiction treatment — in exchange for housing.

HUD in a news release said the new rules are meant to restore accountability and promote self-sufficiency among homeless people.

The department criticized the housing-first model as one that “encourages dependence on endless government handouts while neglecting to address the root causes of homelessness, including illicit drugs and mental illness.”

Federal officials also ridiculed the fact that only 10% of the grants were competitive under former President Joe Biden’s administration. The rest were automatically renewed to programs already receiving funds.

Now, 70% of the projects will be funded through a competitive process, according to HUD.

“These long-overdue reforms will promote independence and ensure we are supporting means-tested approaches to carry out the president’s mandate, connect Americans with the help they need and make our cities and towns beautiful and safe,” Turner said in a media release.

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