Column: Inaction will leave veterans, children on the streets in Hampton Roads

In November, the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) quietly released a 128-page grant application that slashes support for long-term housing programs. In Hampton Roads alone, such programs serve more than 1,000 individuals including at least 390 children under the age of 18, more than 200 elderly adults and around 40 veterans according to the latest data. These individuals will have nowhere to go when these funds are eliminated and U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans’ silence on the matter has the optics of complacency with this administration’s harsh policy.
By way of background, continuum-of-care systems, led by agencies such as The Planning Council, were established in the mid-1990s to coordinate funding and services locally to house individuals experiencing homelessness. These programs also provide additional services including job training, mental health services and others so individuals and families can achieve long-term stability.
In Virginia, this permanent supportive housing approach has been incredibly successful with 91% of households remaining stably housed according to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. In fact, this approach has worked so well at a national level that funding for the continuum of care has always received bipartisan support from Congress because agencies such as ours are held accountable through reporting and results.
HUD’s recent actions shift funding away from these existing programs that support more than 3,200 Virginians in permanent housing towards short-term transitional models that primarily serve adult-only households and condition shelter on the participation in substance use and mental health treatment and the workforce. In other words, these changes redirect funding away from proven housing strategies and toward models that are demonstrably less effective at ending homelessness.
The administration and HUD’s recent decision around this funding would reverse a decade of progress, destabilize communities and dramatically increase public costs. This is despite the fact that Congress has already authorized these funds. What is increasingly frustrating is that Kiggans has not said anything about this change and the devastating impact it could have on our community.
It is critical that Congress extend existing grants immediately, even if it is only for 12 months, because many agencies will start running out of funds in January. While we understand that the administration and Congress may wish to make thoughtful policy changes to the program, it is reckless to do so without providing time for the system to adapt. An abrupt change of this magnitude will force formerly homeless families, including children, senior citizens and veterans, back on the streets all over Hampton Roads in the middle of winter.
The ripple effects of this policy shift in Hampton Roads will be dramatic and will put a great deal of strain on health care providers, law enforcement and corrections officers. If more than 1,000 members of our community are suddenly without a safe place to sleep, we will see those children missing school, hospitals being overrun by seniors suffering from hypothermia, and worse. This will be felt in every corner of our region because homelessness is indiscriminate; it exists in larger localities such as Virginia Beach to smaller localities such as Suffolk. It will also have a significant impact on construction workers, the real estate development community, and landlords who house individuals supported by the program.
We must demand a reversal to this policy immediately. HUD must reinstate all the funding that Congress has already allocated to the continuum-of-care program for the next year. The administration and Congress must keep its promise to Americans who elected them in 2024 to protect vulnerable populations such as children, seniors and veterans. We must call on Kiggans to push the administration to reverse course.
Amanda Ofsonka of Norfolk is the director of the continuum-of-care programs at The Planning Council. Email her at aofsonka@theplanningcouncil.org. Isabel McLain of Richmond is the director of policy and advocacy at the Virginia Housing Alliance. Email her at imclain@vahousingalliance.org.