By: SANDRA SMITH Capital News Service  The Trump administration announced that it would cut $46 million from Maryland’s federal funding allocation that places individuals in secure housing. Maryland’s homelessness levels are expected to increase by 25%, according to state officials. “Let me be clear: The Trump administration’s decision will directly result in a 25 percent spike in homelessness across Maryland. It will reverse decades of progress to reduce unsheltered homelessness,” Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day wrote in a statement to Capital News Service.Maryland has reduced levels of homelessness drastically since 2015. By utilizing housing-first practices – which offer homeless individuals and families access to permanent housing as quickly as possible – the state managed to cut unsheltered homelessness by 42% and overall homelessness by 28% over the past decade, according to Day. “[The Trump administration’s decision] will reverse decades of progress to reduce unsheltered homelessness. It will force domestic violence survivors to return to abusive households and unaccompanied youth to couchsurf with strangers,” Day wrote. The Trump administration plans to cut funding for the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) program– the country’s largest source of federal money for various homelessness services. The program currently has a $3.5 million annual budget, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.CoC is designed to help communities end homelessness by funding nonprofits, states and local governments. It supports rehousing efforts for individuals and families and reaches more than 750,000 people nationwide. Around 87% of its funding goes towards permanent housing solutions.CoC uses the annual Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which helps communities create more permanent housing options through construction, acquisition and rehabilitation.Under the new changes, the administration will cap the amount CoC communities can spend on permanent housing at 30%. That funding will be reallocated to other programs, such as emergency shelters and high-barrier transitional housing.These programs are proven less effective in fixing unsheltered homelessness than permanent housing options, according to the NLIHC. Twenty states, including Maryland, are suing the administration because of these policy changes.Day noted that more than 2,400 Maryland households – including 4,300 people and 1,900 children – will lose their homes as a result of the funding cuts.“With no available vouchers, no surplus of affordable units and no alternatives to absorb this massive displacement, the vast majority will be forced straight back into homelessness,” Day wrote.The new conditions placed on CoC will also give HUD the ability to deny funding to organizations that acknowledge transgender and nonbinary individuals.The 2024 HUD homelessness assessment report revealed that across the U.S., 58% of transgender individuals experiencing homelessness live in shelters, the highest rate compared to any other demographic group. Gov. Wes Moore announced he will fund eviction and homelessness prevention through the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program (CSRAP). Applications in eight jurisdictions are open; including in Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Frederick, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Washington and Wicomico.CSRAP helps families and students enrolled in community schools with emergency financial support. The program provides different types of assistance to those at risk of eviction, losing their home or experiencing homelessness.“Few things are more important to a child’s growth and development than a safe, stable home,” Moore said in a press release on Nov. 26. “The Community Schools Rental Assistance Program will help vulnerable students and their families threatened with housing instability keep a roof over their heads. This is a collaborative, interagency initiative that brings together housing supports, educators, and community partners in order to bolster our administration’s mission of ending child poverty.”  ...read more read less