The Week Ahead: Federal Measures to End the Homeless Crisis

On Wednesday, March 8, the Senate Banking Committee will present a hearing titled, “The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness,” at 1:30 p.m. Central in the Dirksen Senate Office Building 538.

Invited speakers for the hearing include Jeff Olivet, Executive Director, U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness; and Richard Cho, Senior Advisor for Housing and Services, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).

HUD recently announced $5.6 billion in funding dedicated towards 1,200 communities through more than 2,400 grants to states, urban counties, insular areas, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and local organizations across the country. These annual formula grants provide critical funding for a wide range of activities including affordable housing, community development, and homeless assistance.

“Viable communities must promote integrated approaches to develop decent housing, suitable living environments, and expand economic opportunities to the most vulnerable,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “These funds allow communities to address their unique needs by prioritizing what matters most to their residents and letting them own their investments in community development through these important federal resources.”

To address homelessness in rural communities, HUD also recently announced the first set of areas to receive grants, totaling nearly $315 million in grants to 46 communities. These grants and vouchers comprise a first-of-its-kind package of resources to help communities provide housing and supportive services to people in unsheltered settings and people experiencing homelessness in rural areas. Communities were also asked to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing unsheltered and rural homelessness that involves coordination with healthcare providers, other housing agencies such as public housing authorities, and people with lived experience.

HUD Secretary Fudge also noted that states, municipalities, and tribes who joined the Department’s House America initiative have housed more than 100,000 households experiencing homelessness and added over 40,000 affordable housing units into development as of the end of January 2023. HUD organized leaders from 105 communities across 31 states and territories and the District of Columbia to join House America and provided technical assistance to reach these goals.

Launched in September 2021 by Secretary Fudge in partnership with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH), House America is an all-hands-on-deck effort to address the nation’s homelessness crisis.

“Everyone deserves a safe, stable place to call home. Through House America, I’m proud to see that communities have stepped up to get people off the streets and into homes,” said Secretary Fudge. “The Biden-Harris Administration is deploying a Housing First approach, using American Rescue Plan funding and other resources to help individuals find a place to call home. We will continue to work to house America until we end homelessness as we know it.”

Scheduled to appear at the hearing, Olivet serves as Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). He has worked to prevent and end homelessness for more than 25 years as a street outreach worker, case manager, coalition builder, researcher, and trainer. He is the founder of jo consulting, co-founder of Racial Equity Partners, and from 2010-2018, served as CEO of C4 Innovations. Throughout his career, Olivet has worked extensively in the areas of homelessness and housing, health and behavioral health, HIV, education, and organizational development. Jeff has been principal investigator on multiple research studies funded by private foundations and the National Institutes of Health. Jeff is deeply committed to social justice, racial equity, gender equality, and inclusion for all.

Also scheduled to testify, Cho serves as Senior Advisor for Housing and Services for HUD, working to provide strategic direction and coordination over federal policy efforts to end homelessness, including oversight over agency's policy team. Cho has also served as CEO of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness; Director of the Behavioral Health Division of The Council of State Governments Justice Center; and Deputy Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, among others.

Click here for more information or to register for the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing “The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness.”

Here's what else is happening in The Week Ahead:

• Fannie Mae's Refinance Application-Level Index (RALI) (Tuesday)
• Senate Banking Committee: The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress (Tuesday)
• Senate Banking Committee: The Federal Debt Limit and its Economic and Financial Consequences (Tuesday)
• MBA Weekly Applications Survey (Wednesday)
• Williston Financial Group's Quarterly Economic Outlook (Wednesday)
• Realtor.com Weekly Housing Market Recap (Wednesday)
• Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (Thursday)
• U.S. Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (Thursday)
• House Financial Services Committee: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Ripe for Reform (Thursday)