If the federal government’s plan to slash U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds designed to help people who are unhoused occurs, Montgomery County expects its homeless population to grow, said County Executive Marc Elrich.
Starting in January 2026, HUD grants may be cut by 70%. The county receives $12 million annually in Continuum of Care grant funds, according to Christine Hong, chief of the county’s Services to End and Prevent Homelessness. She spoke Wednesday during County Executive Marc Elrich’s press briefing.
People who have moved to permanent housing, thanks in part to federal grant money, may end up back on the streets, Hong said. Also, county programs geared to rapid rehousing will dry up, she said.
“I am very concerned,” Hong said, noting that 757 people currently housed receive HUD dollars. Many of those people have disabilities, live with young children or are older than 65 years.
The impact will spread far further than housing, she said. Public safety officials and hospitals will end up spending more money when people are unsheltered, Hong said.
“It’s simply cruel,” she said. “It would make us more vulnerable. It would be catastrophic.”
Elrich said the proposed federal cuts are “ludicrous. It also gets to the point of how heartless this administration is.”
Elrich also lashed out on “the weakening of fair housing efforts within HUD.” People with disabilities are being targeted, he said.
He sent a letter to U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) expressing “serious concerns” about the possible cuts. He wrote that the county could lose $8.3 million in leasing and rental assistance received by 198 local landlords and employment of 47 staff people.
