Looming in 2026: Trump’s push to shift housing policy leaves Alameda County providers in limbo

Last in a three-part series about Oakland agencies preparing for major federal funding cuts.

The Trump administration has paused plans that could substantially cut funding for permanent housing benefitting Oakland’s homeless population.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed in November to reallocate hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants that had paid for permanent housing projects, to temporary shelter and addiction treatment programs. Alameda County stands to lose tens of millions of dollars if the plan proceeds.

The pause comes after two federal lawsuits were filed challenging HUD’s proposed changes to Continuum of Care grant rules and restrictions. California is a plaintiff in a lawsuit brought by 21 state governments, and San Francisco and Santa Clara counties joined a second lawsuit brought by a coalition of local governments and nonprofits. 

The administration pulled the 2026 grant proposal in a federal court filing this month, hours before a judge was expected to rule against it. HUD has not yet released a new proposal, leaving homeless service providers in limbo.

According to the latest county report, over 7,000 formerly unhoused residents live in permanent housing in Alameda County, which includes supportive housing for people with disabilities, rent subsidization and other forms of long-term assistance.

“I would be devastated if I didn’t have this service at all,” said Sonya Ayubi, who lives in a Fremont development managed by Abode Housing Services.

Ayubi pays about $1,900 a month in rent for a subsidized three-bedroom apartment, which she shares with her three children. Before receiving housing assistance, she and the children stayed with Ayubi’s mother in a small apartment after Ayubi’s cancer treatments and sudden divorce left them homeless. 

“I know I don’t want it to be something where I’m always being assisted — it’s just supposed to help you for the time being,” she said. “At the same time, I still need to get on my feet. I hope that Trump doesn’t mess this up for any of us.”

‘Biden-era slush fund’

The majority of funding for permanent housing initiatives comes from Continuum of Care grants, the federal government’s massive funding initiative for nonprofits and local agencies tackling the homelessness crisis. Last year, Alameda County received $56 million in CoC grants, 86% of which went to permanent housing projects.

In November, HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced the policy shift. Under the proposed directive, only 30% of the total grant could go towards permanent housing, jeopardizing a key pillar of the county’s approach to solving homelessness. 

In a Nov. 13 news release, Turner said the  change was meant to re-direct local governments from a “Housing First” model of care, which prioritizes housing homeless residents regardless of their health, sobriety or criminal history.

“We are stopping the Biden-era slush fund that fueled the homelessness crisis, shut out faith-based providers simply because of their values, and incentivized never-ending government dependency,” he said.

Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife criticized the move.

“This policy is not based on evidence and what we know works: housing that meets people where they are,” she said in an email. “Our county team is working to mitigate impacts to the unhoused community.”

Alameda County Health’s Housing and Homelessness Services administers CoC grants in the county. Asked to comment, the office issued a statement saying it is “committed to supporting the well-being of unhoused people in our community through connection to essential housing and health services.”

Jonathan Russell, who directs the office, did not respond to an interview request. 

HUD also proposed in November that previously guaranteed funding would be re-allocated. In past years, 90% of each CoC grant was guaranteed. The proposal, which has since been withdrawn, would have reduced protected funding to 30%, giving the federal government greater ability to defund programs that didn’t fit its policy priorities.

The lawsuits alleged that the new conditions discriminated against providers that serve LGBTQ individuals, immigrants, and “localities whose approach to homelessness differs from this administration’s.”

‘It’s just ineffective’

The majority of the county’s CoC grant funding goes to the health department. Abode, which operates over 20 permanent housing sites in Alameda County and more across the Bay Area, directly received $1 million in last year’s CoC grant. It’s CEO, Vivian Wan, said the government’s shift from housing first isn’t based on results.

Treatment-first approaches aren’t new, and largely have failed, she said.

“That’s not to say we don’t need more treatment services,” Wan said. “But absent housing with it, it’s just ineffective.”

Ayubi is also skeptical.

“People need a longer time to be able to get on their feet,” she said. “It’s been a year for me and I’m still struggling. I’m a single mother of three. I’ve never lived on my own. This is my first time. And on top of that, I’m responsible for my children.”

Alameda County is 25% below its permanent housing targets, according to the latest county report.

It is possible that local funding could address the potential losses in federal funding. Earlier this year, Alameda County approved nearly $1 billion for new homelessness initiatives from Measure W, the untapped sales tax revenue raised by a 2020 ballot initiative. But Wan noted that Measure W wasn’t meant to plug holes but do new new things.

“We were really going to turn the tide and decrease homelessness in exciting ways,” Wan said.

The Trump administration’s proposals would reverse that course, she said. “We’re so angry that decades of empirical evidence that housing first and other policies work is just being turned around.”

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