Boston, Cambridge join lawsuit over changes to federal homelessness program

Boston and Cambridge have joined a lawsuit to overturn Trump administration changes to a federal homeless prevention program.

The lawsuit focuses on changes the Department of Housing and Urban Development made to funding requirements for its Continuum of Care Program. The new guidelines only allow for the city to put $29 million earmarked for permanent housing solutions to new temporary housing projects, with strict mandatory service, forced treatment and employment requirements for recipients. City officials estimate the new rules could leave more than 1,100 Bostonians homeless.

“They have completely reshaped the program  for this next year and years forward,”  Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said during an interview with WBUR. ”They have to be for very limited uses that we know in fact are not what solve our underlying challenges.”

The Continuum of Care program has provided resources to fund permanent housing projects in Boston for decades. This year, 19 nonprofit organizations were awarded $48 million to support around 2,000 formerly homeless households, according to the city. That includes housing for people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, veterans and others in crisis.

In a statement, Boston’s housing chief, Sheila Dillon, called the Continuum of Care funds the “backbone” of the city's effort to house people struggling with homelessness.

“The proposed federal changes in this year’s notice puts our residents at serious risk,” she said.

The restrictions will end funding for more than 170,000 people who currently live in permanent supportive housing across the country, according to the nonprofit group National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

“These changes threaten not only the stability of our residents, but the integrity of a proven, data-driven system that helps people off the streets and into positions where they can succeed long-term,” said Cambridge City Manager Yi-An Huang.

Federal officials defended the “monumental reforms” in a press release last month.

“Roughly 90% of the last four years [Continuum of Care] awards funneled funding to support the failed ‘Housing First’ ideology, which encourages dependence on endless government handouts while neglecting to address the root causes of homelessness, including illicit drugs and mental illness,” the statement said.

Boston and Cambridge joined the lawsuit with nine other plaintiffs, including the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), Crossroads Rhode Island, Nashville, Tenn., and Tucson, Ariz. The Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island, and the ACLU Foundation of RI are representing all plaintiffs.