Shelter & Transitional Housing Task Force
MILWAUKEE
“Homelessness is not a moral failure—it is a systemic challenge that Milwaukee is committed to solving. These federal dollars fund real homes for real people. With abrupt federal changes, infants to elders could lose the stability that keeps them safe. Milwaukee stands united in protecting these essential programs.”
Action Needed to Stop Drastic Cuts to Homeless Funding
The Shelter & Transitional Housing Task Force is sounding the alarm on abrupt changes that could slash federal homelessness funding for nearly 5,000 Wisconsinites, including over 2,000 Milwaukee residents.
The Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness serves as the collaborative applicant and lead agency for $16,288,585 in Continuum of Care (CoC) grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In 2024, HUD issued a two-year CoC funding notice for FY2024–2025 but in July 2025 announced a new FY2025 competition with major departures from prior funding notices. This abrupt shift disrupts local planning and conflicts with the McKinney-Vento Act’s emphasis on stable renewal funding for permanent housing projects, which currently account for 87% of CoC resources. HUD has also proposed capping funding for permanent supportive housing—the core of the nation’s largest homelessness-response program—further constraining communities’ ability to sustain proven interventions.
Every year, CoC funds account for over $12 million in direct rent payments to keep Milwaukee’s most vulnerable residents safely housed. These investments support thousands of individuals across more than 20 housing programs, including families with children, veterans, domestic violence survivors, young adults aging out of foster care, and medically fragile residents. Stable housing saves taxpayers money by preventing hospitalizations, nursing home placements, and overuse of emergency services.
The best outcome is for HUD to withdraw the FY2025 NOFO and continue to fund current CoC projects for another 12 months, as was the intent of the two-year FY2024 NOFO. We believe this can best be achieved by partnering with service providers, local government, and advocacy groups to contact senators and members of Congress and ask them to amend the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) bill to continue funding CoC programs. We will also engage the press and general public in advocacy efforts.
The National Alliance to End Homelessness recommends this following language:
Senate: I urge you to include a provision in an upcoming appropriations bill that directs HUD to renew all existing Continuum of Care grants expiring during calendar year 2026 for one 12-month period. This no-cost provision is consistent with bipartisan Congressional direction and will ensure there are no unnecessary gaps and delays in resources. Find your senators here.
House: I urge you to take action to intervene and find a path that will protect CoC Program funding from the inevitable timing delays and abrupt changes that HUD is attempting to make through this NOFO. Find your congressional representative here.
Learn more about the changes and who opposes the FY2025 NOFO.