Proposed federal budget cuts that may affect the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have local agencies concerned about the possible impact on homeless individuals they serve.
Jennifer Clark, chief executive officer at St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP), said the federal government’s discretionary funding request for the 2026 fiscal year may lead to a 44 percent cut to HUD’s funding. This would affect the agency’s emergency shelter and shelters across the city. In addition, it would cut funds to programs such as rental assistance.
“People don’t realize what these dollars do,” said Clark in a recent interview. “There are a lot of conversations right now about people on the streets. If you think it’s bad now, it’ll get so much worse.”
‘People don’t realize what these dollars do. There are a lot of conversations right now about people on the streets. If you think it’s bad now, it’ll get so much worse.’
— Jennifer Clark
SVDP serves homeless individuals through various programs, Clark said.
- The agency serves men in the Ozanam Inn, a 24/7 emergency shelter that houses about 40 men each night.
- Its veteran housing offers 24 single rooms to female and male veterans.
- A family housing program offers 32 apartments to homeless families. The program also offers case management and mental health counseling services.
- Through a Section 8 housing assistance program, there are 12 efficiency apartments.
- The domestic violence transitional housing and rapid rehousing program serves individuals fleeing domestic and sexual violence or other situations such as human trafficking.
- The agency also offers off-campus housing for families.
Clark said SVDP provides services that are “outcome-driven.” “We work to get them to permanent housing. We work hard to give them the services they need to recover and get into housing,” she said. “It’ll be hard to make up the loss. … Outcomes will suffer.”
For example, she said, when individuals suddenly lose rental assistance, it typically leads to homelessness. If they’re on the streets, they don’t have access to do laundry to attend job interviews.
“They are no longer paying bills, buying groceries. … If you take away all that, it costs the community,” she said.
Individuals living on the streets are more likely to end up in the emergency room, get arrested and sink further into addiction and depression, Clark noted.
“Social issues get worse. Ultimately, it’ll be worse for the community. … It’s more expensive to have them on the street than in a shelter,” she said. “Anything we can do to educate people on the impact of this is very important.”
Clark said there are two ways that individuals can help. They can contact their U.S. representative by visiting https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative or make a financial donation to St. Vincent de Paul’s Housing Preservation Fund. To donate, visit https://www.svdplou.org/home.
“We’re putting funds aside in case the cuts happen,” Clark noted.
