Thousands of people in Florida could become homeless if the Department of Housing and Urban Development carries out its sweeping housing reforms, according to national homelessness experts.
HUD wants to limit at 60% the amount of federal funds homeless services groups can spend on “permanent supportive housing,” a subsidized rent program for people who are elderly, chronically homeless or have a disability, without a designated length of stay.
These groups of nonprofits and housing authorities, called Continuums of Care, spend an average 87% of their federal funds on permanent supportive housing.
A shock to that system would mean over 97,000 people nationwide would no longer be able to afford their rent, according to the the nonpartisan nonprofit National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Florida would be particularly affected, with estimates of nearly 4,000 people at risk of losing housing and an expected reduction of $57 million toward permanent housing programs.
“Obviously, we will have people homeless in the streets because we can’t pay their rent for them,” said Rayme Nuckles, CEO of the Treasure Coast Homelessness Services Council, which allocates federal housing funds for Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties. “That’s unfortunate for individuals whose health situations are out of their control.”
A HUD spokesperson said the agency did not plan to cut funding, but rather reallocate resources, and called the reports of projected homelessness “baseless.”
Florida counties most affected
The Miami-Dade County Continuum of Care has the most people at risk of reentering homelessness, with 1,589 people projected to be impacted.
It also has the highest estimated federal funding decrease of $24.5 million. Miami-Dade is Florida’s largest county and spent 67% of its federal funds on permanent housing in 2025.
Naples, Collier, Monroe, Volusia and Flagler counties fund permanent supportive housing programs with nearly 100% of their HUD funds.
In all, those five counties are set to lose over $1 million in permanent housing funds and could see 80 people backslide into homelessness.
HUD’s first attempt blocked in court
This is HUD’s second attempt to overturn the “housing first” model, which helps people exit homelessness quickly through subsidized rents and requires they pay at least 30% of their income in housing costs. Case managers then follow up with voluntary supportive services.
HUD previously wanted to cap spending on this program at 30%, a move that would have sent 170,000 people into homelessness.
In March, a federal judge ruled HUD’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious” and the funding criteria were subject to “slapdash imposition of political whims.”
HUD’s refocus on ‘treatment first’
The agency plans to prioritize “treatment and recovery as a means to self-sufficiency.” The new guidelines mention “self-sufficiency” 32 times, while only mentioning “reducing homelessness” six times and “ending homelessness” eight times.
The new guidelines did not mention a transition period for nonprofits to adapt to the sudden policy shift.
HUD is offering $1.3 billion for new projects with a priority on “transitional housing” and treatment services. Transitional housing is a type of temporary homeless shelter program that houses people until they can move on to something more stable.
If HUD limits how much nonprofits can spend on permanent supportive housing, there will be fewer places to send financially strained people once they leave the shelter, said Marty Mercado, executive director of the Hope for Families shelter in Vero Beach.
“I think we’re making decisions about dollars, and not human beings,” she said.
HUD attacks ‘housing first’
HUD Secretary Scott Turner told TCPalm April 14 the housing-first model is “a failed model,” and he’s “laser-focused” on reversing course.
Turner and his agency argue housing-first has failed because homelessness has continued to rise in many parts of the country.
HUD’s revised guidelines did not mention other contributing factors to homelessness, such as rising rents, mortgage rates, inflation, costs of health care, as well as historical shocks, including the coronavirus pandemic or the shortage of housing supply induced by the 2008 financial crisis.
The policy change contradicts ample research spanning back two decades, including a study by Justice in Aging and others that found housing first was 88% more effective at curbing homelessness than a treatment-first approach.
The story continues below.
About 98% of people enrolled in permanent supportive housing stay in their homes one year after being housed, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Participants are more likely to stay in school, attend job training programs, address mental health and substance abuse issues and spend fewer days in jails, shelters and hospitals.
HUD previously credited the approach with helping reduce national homelessness by about 30% in 2008.
Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at jack.lemnus@tcpalm.com, 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida HUD cut could make thousands more people homeless
Reporting by Jack Lemnus, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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By Jack Lemnus, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
