Advocacy Toolkit
There are many things that are occurring at the federal level that cause concern and put our community at risk. As of now, we are concerned that HUD won’t honor Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) awards for $37.7 million in Continuum of Care (CoC) renewal grants for Detroit. These grants primarily fund housing and supportive services for homeless and disabled households.
Background
Continuum of Care
In order to receive funding from HUD, communities must ensure that homelessness services are coordinated, responsive to local needs, and data-informed. To facilitate this, each community’s homeless response is organized into what is called a Continuum of Care (CoC). All agencies providing federally funded homeless services in the local area participate in the CoC and work together to try and make homelessness in the community rare, brief, and non-recurring.
The Detroit Continuum of Care which serves Detroit, Highland Park, and Hamtramck receives a total of $37,705,141 from HUD across 47 grants that support our homeless and supportive housing programs.
These grants are administered by 18 different local agencies who provide supportive services to over 1,800 of Detroit’s most vulnerable households -
including homeless adults, youth and families, people with disabilities, veterans, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, and people with substance use and mental health disorders.
In Detroit, Permanent Supportive Housing is the primary project covered by CoC funding (69%). This provides long-term rental assistance to Detroit’s most vulnerable residents and wrap around supports to help them maintain their housing. This program is highly successful in our community with 99% of persons entering PSH remaining stably housed. CoC Funding also covers Transitional Housing and Rapid Re-Housing programs which provide short to medium-term housing assistance and wrap-around supports
Lastly, we want to note that homelessness does not exist in a vacuum. Cutting our community’s connection to SSI, Medicaid, SNAP benefits, HeadStart/child care support, and any other public programming exacerbates financial precarity for our residents, increases the risk of people becoming homeless, and puts lives at risk. The social services that are being threatened for cuts protect our nation’s most vulnerable. It has been said that “how a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity.” We urge you to protect your vulnerable constituents and ensure they continue to have access to supports that save lives and empower them to be valuable members of society.
We are asking our legislators to
Use their voice and power to urge HUD to honor the FY24 funding awards that were announced in early January and expeditiously administer grant contracts and funding to our community and communities across the nation.
Vote no for any FY25 budget proposal that cuts HUD funding. Any cut of funding directly will result in people returning to homelessness and a shortage of resources to help them regain stability.
Fight against efforts to cut federal employees working for HUD as this will further slow-down the process to administer the FY24 grants that our community desperately needs.
Contact our legislators
Senator Elissa Slotkin (D)
Detroit Location
719 Griswold Street
Suite 700
Detroit, MI, 48226
Phone: (313) 961-4330
Senator Gary Peters (D)
Detroit Location
Patrick V. McNamara
Federal Building
477 Michigan Avenue
Suite 1837
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 226-6020
Toll Free: (844) 506-7420
(Select “housing” under message topic)
Rep Shri Thanedar (D)
Detroit Location
400 Monroe Street
Suite 420
Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 880-2400
Fax: (313) 731-1843
If you fall outside of Representative Thanedar’s district, you can find your Michigan representative here.
View a sample letter below. Click the button to copy the text and paste in your email.
This is a work in progress, if you’re having issues, contact kimberly@handetroit.org
Resources
This information can be used to create your own advocacy letter and materials.
President Trump Released “Skinny” Budget Request Foreshadowing Severe Cuts to HUD in Full FY26 Request –National Low Income Housing Coalition
Major Actions of the Second Trump Administration Affecting Housing (1/20/25 through 4/30/25) - Shelterforce
Executive Directive 2023-2025 (A report on the impact of Medicaid cuts on Michigan residents) - MDHHS
By the Numbers: State-by-State Data, Fact Sheets, and Resources - Center for Budget and Public Policy
HUD Staff Cuts and Grant Delays Endanger Homelessness Services - Shelterforce
Snapshot: Most Local & State Governments Spend More on Corrections than Housing - National Alliance to End Homelessness
Coming soon: If you're a Detroit CoC agency, please take a moment to fill out this form and share your insights with us.
Other Ways to Get Involved
We encourage people to get involved in any of the following ways
Calling and/or writing emails or letters to your legislators urging them to protect our funding, the rights of the clients we serve, and the social safety nets/resources offered to the most vulnerable in our community
Attending city council meetings and advocate for policies and funding that protect our community through public comments
Signing onto advocacy initiatives that you believe in
Gathering and sharing stories of the impacts of legislative decisions with our lawmakers (or with entities that are advocating to lawmakers)
Participating in advocacy events such as MCAH Homelessness Advocacy Day, NAEH Capitol Hill Day, etc.
Resources for general advocacy
Track legislation on MCAH’s website.
Sign up for legislative alerts on the National Alliance’s website.
Track Executive Orders here
Understand nonprofit advocacy.
Utilize the 5 Calls App
Learn how to use storytelling techniques for change
How to Effectively Work with Federal, State, and Local Leaders
If you’re unsure who your Representative is, please use this tool.
If you’re unsure who your Senator is, find out here.