Just one day after the federal government reopened its doors for business last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a dramatic reversal in how it funds programs designed to help homeless people get off the streets.
Right now, roughly 90 percent of $4 billion in homeless grants the feds distribute to local governments goes to underwrite the cost of providing permanent housing for roughly 170,000 people. But as of next year, that percentage will plumet to no more than 30 percent.
In Santa Barbara County, this translates to a drop from $3.42 million to just $1.1 million for permanent housing…