Urgent Federal Housing Issue
At the end of December, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released guidance outlining how it plans to reopen and process the FY24-25 Continuum of Care (CoC) competition. HUD has indicated the NOFO will reopen in early January, with applications due in February and awards anticipated in May.
That clarity is helpful but doesn’t eliminate risk. Between now and the announcement of awards, communities could still face funding gaps that disrupt housing and services. Local competitions remain paused, application systems are not yet open, and providers are being asked to wait while timelines are compressed. In other words, planning is happening, but continuity is not guaranteed.
That’s why advocates across Arizona are urging Congress to take a simple, stabilizing step: extend existing CoC contracts for one year. A short-term extension would protect housing and services that are already in place, give communities time to plan responsibly for federal changes, and avoid preventable disruption for people who are currently housed or actively being served.
As Arizona’s statewide housing and homelessness advocate, we are asking our partners and supporters to contact their congressional delegation and urge them to support this extension. Below, we’ve included simple language you can use to make that request.
We work closely with our federal partners at the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), and the A Call to Invest In Our Neighbors (ACTION) campaign, to name a few, to help leverage our state dollars by expanding federal housing and homelessness resources that will help Arizonans struggling to find stable housing. These national partners help outline the Coalition’s policy agenda; then we rely on our Board and members to help narrow and localize our federal advocacy requests.
Advocacy is the heart of what we do.
We closely monitor issues and policies in Washington, and are ready to act to advance sound policies and laws that stem the root cause of homelessness and create more affordable housing opportunities throughout Arizona. We are proud of the power the Coalition’s voice holds at our nation’s Capitol, our state Capitol, and in our communities.