Officials are strategizing how best to stretch county dollars allocated to prevent homelessness as the threat of reduction in federal funds looms and the need increases.
Staff from the county’s Services to End and Prevent Homelessness met with members of the council’s Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday. Chief Christine Hong said her department is working on how best to move around the dollars so unsheltered people will be taken care of.
Hong discussed troubling trends during these “unstable and unpredictable times.” She added, “The challenges really are formidable and unprecedented, but we are up for the task.”
The U.S. Congress has proposed slashing the federal Permanent Supportive Housing program by 70%. That program enables disabled or elderly residents to live in an apartment and receive counseling. At least 400 people could lose their housing if the cuts are adopted.
“What is happening now at the federal level is just awful and cruel,” said County Council President Kate Stewart.
The number of people experiencing homelessness rose by 32%, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Point in Time survey. The number of adults and children experiencing homelessness in Montgomery County increased by 356 individuals, according to that survey. The largest increase occurred among families.
During the past five years, the number of families experiencing homelessness rose 634%. Hong attributed that to the high cost of housing, inflation, stagnate wages, funding cuts and domestic violence.
“The trend we are seeing is not exclusive to our county,” Hong said.
The county housed 795 adults and children through its Short Term Housing Resolution Program so far this year. It also served 401 families in emergency shelters and 1,926 individuals in emergency shelters.
As the temperatures plummet, the need for shelter beds will increase as people without housing want to come inside. Already, two of the county’s shelters surpassed their limits, Hong said.
The county also settles people temporarily in area motels, but that program is way over budget. During the year, the county needs on average 127 motel rooms. It used up its annual allocation in the first three months.
There were 1,439 evictions conducted during fiscal year 2025 while a total of 12,146 people received eviction notices. Due to these evictions, “more people are sleeping in cars and parking lots,” Hong said.
As the committee meeting drew to a close, Councilmember Gabe Albornoz thanked those who work to end homelessness. “Your work is hard, very hard. We have such deep respect for the important role you all play.”
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