A federal judge on Friday temporarily barred the Trump administration from imposing new restrictions on a program that helped communities move homeless individuals and families into permanent housing. The ruling by Rhode Island District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy came in a suit filed by several national and local organizations as well as local governments, including Boston and Cambridge.
City officials had estimated that new guidelines by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Continuum of Care program would cut $4.6 million from the city’s $6.4-million grant for the program next year; the program currently pays for housing 214 families and individuals. HUD announced the day after the government shutdown ended that it would renew only 30 percent of a community’s grant for permanent housing instead of 90 percent as it had done for years, shifting aid toward temporary housing.
HUD withdrew its contested funding notice less than 90 minutes before a scheduled court hearing Dec. 8 but gave indications that a promised new funding announcement would contain similar restrictions. The agency hasn’t yet posted a new notice.
Cambridge said in a statement Friday that McElroy’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction will temporarily “block the Trump-Vance administration’s attempts to implement unlawful and unreasonable restrictions that seek to shift funding away from proven solutions to homelessness.” A preliminary injunction bars contested actions while a full trial of a lawsuit is held.
Cambridge and the other plaintiffs in the case contend that HUD’s changed grant guidelines “threaten to upend the stability of the program required by law, will have devastating impacts for plaintiffs, and cause hundreds of thousands of children, youth, adults, and families to become homeless,” the city’s statement said.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
