Montgomery County leaders are concerned about a proposed cut in funding to a federal rental assistance program and the effect it could have on unhoused people in the Maryland county.
Congress is proposing a 70% cut in the federal Permanent Supportive Housing program, which works to place individuals experiencing homelessness into stable, permanent housing.
According to a Montgomery County report presented at Thursday’s Health and Human Services Committee meeting, a reduction of that size would result in a $17 million loss in rental assistance over three years in the Maryland county.
If additional dollars are not found, hundreds of people could be out on the streets.
“A 70 percent reduction would decrease the number served by an estimated 559 people, leaving
capacity to serve 240 people,” the report states.
Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart calls the proposed cuts “awful and cruel.”
“These are our families, people who live in our community, who are being evicted, who had stable housing and now won’t,” Stewart said.
Montgomery County Health and Human Services Director Christine Hong said her department is trying to figure out how to make local dollars stretch if the cuts go into effect.
“As much as the challenges are really formidable and unprecedented, we are up for the task of ensuring that our most vulnerable have the housing and services they need,” Hong said.
If the proposed cuts are made at year’s end, it would dovetail into a time county leaders refer to as hypothermia season, when more people are seeking shelter from the cold.
The report shows most of the county’s shelters are already operating at, or above, capacity.
A bipartisan group of 22 lawmakers has submitted a letter to the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, requesting a one-year extension of current funding for the federal Permanent Supportive Housing program.
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