HUD Proposal Will Increase Homelessness
The Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA) submitted a declaration as part of a lawsuit filed on 12/2/25 by a coalition of nonprofit organizations and local governments against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
HUD is rolling out a massive policy change to Continuum of Care (CoC) funding that will dramatically cut housing for people with disabilities nationwide. Nearly 4,000 households across Massachusetts are in danger of returning to homelessness.
This is not a budget cut by Congress; it is a reckless policy change by HUD to largely eliminate funding that currently keeps people housed, and replace it with short-term services.
The lawsuit challenges HUD’s unlawful and unreasonable restrictions that seek to shift funding away from proven solutions to homelessness, threatening to push hundreds of thousands of people onto the street as cold winter months arrive.
The coalition behind the new legal challenge includes the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), Crossroads Rhode Island, Youth Pride, Inc., as well as the County of Santa Clara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., King County, Wash., Boston, Mass., Cambridge, Mass., Nashville, Tenn., and Tucson, Ariz.
Democracy Forward represents the coalition of nonprofit organizations in the matter; the National Homelessness Law Center represents NAEH and NLIHC; Public Rights Project represents the cities of Boston, Cambridge, Nashville and Tucson; and Santa Clara County and San Francisco represent themselves. The Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, and the ACLU Foundation of RI represent all plaintiffs. Read the full press release from Democracy Forward (https://democracyforward. org) at https://tinyurl.com/4k6nnb5w
MHSA’s declaration focuses on the severe and irreparable harm that HUD’s policy change will have on Massachusetts communities. As a statewide organization, we believe it is critical for MHSA to contribute to this lawsuit to highlight the impact HUD’s changes will have on our communities, nonprofit organizations, and most of all on the individuals and families whose housing is now at risk.
The lawsuit follows last week’s announcement that Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and a coalition of 20 other states also filed a lawsuit to challenge HUD’s unlawful restrictions on the CoC program.
The stakes are high, and there is a lot of work ahead of us. But what gives me hope are the people coming together nationwide to stand up for what we know works: housing solutions to homelessness.
Thank you for your partnership,
Joyce Tavon, Chief Executive Officer MHSA
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