Sequestration Will Mean a Couple of Shelters or Services Have to Close in 2014
We have posted more detailed information after staff met with senior HUD officials in our membership site. You can only get to it by logging in to the site. It is posted in the Member HUB section of the website. You h
Federal housing plan for 2014?ave to be a member to get access to the member section, but we try to include detailed information for those working in the system or want additional information for their advocacy.
The big picture is that Sequestration will not hit the shelters until 2014, but there will be an impact. Because the federal dollars for homelessness have remained steady for the last two years and now are being cut 6% because of Sequestration, there are expected to be cuts to the local shelters. We are over a year behind in allocating federal dollars, and then there is almost a year for each program to complete their current contracts.
Earlier this year in allocating the 2011 funds, three programs locally did not ask for renewal funds. This assured that all the shelters received renewal funding. The renewal burden is bigger every year even though no programs gets an increase based on inflation. In this upcoming year, we will have to make some tough decisions. Programs that serve the most difficult to serve and thus have poorer outcomes may be lost. Smaller programs may have a harder time demonstrating their impact. Those programs that take people right off the street may have difficulty obtaining enough points to get renewal funding. We estimate between two and five programs may lose federal funding locally over the next two years because of the austerity of the federal government. We will keep the community updated on these developments.
Brian Davis
Posts reflect the opinion of those who sign the entry.