Dozens of formerly unhoused community members in the Charlottesville area are at risk of being back out on the streets after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced drastic changes to how it intends to fund certain programs that serve people experiencing homelessness nationwide.
In the fall, the federal agency announced that it would make deep cuts to funding for long-term housing programs and instead shift that money — which amounts to $3.9 billion, according to a November 2025 PBS report — to transitional housing programs that, on top of being temporary, have additional work requirements that community members with disabling conditions might not be able to meet.
In a statement about the changes, HUD claimed the new policies are meant to “restore accountability” and “promote self-sufficiency” by addressing what it claimed to be “the root cause of homelessness, including illicit drugs and mental illness,” according to a November 2025 NPR report…