Leading homeless reduction network warns of unavoidable funding cliff in January 2026; urges urgent Congressional action to prevent program shutdowns and housing loss
‘Even short disruptions can destabilize entire systems and take years to rebuild.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 14, 2026) — New analysis by Community Solutions of federal data shows that more than $100 million in Continuum of Care (CoC) grant funding will expire in January 2026 alone, with additional expirations rising month by month, creating an immediate and escalating threat to housing stability and homelessness response systems nationwide. Under current conditions, these expirations are imminent, unavoidable, and already underway, and HUD has not yet obligated replacement funding for expiring grants.
“These grants fund critical services and housing programs that keep people off the streets and help families, veterans, seniors, and survivors of violence remain safely housed,” said Rosanne Haggerty, founder and president of Community Solutions. “Without rapid action by Congress, communities will see increased homelessness.”
This warning comes amid broader federal funding disruption — including new reporting from NPR that the Trump administration has moved to terminate as much as $2 billion in addiction and mental health grants effective immediately — further destabilizing local systems already facing a CoC renewal funding cliff.
This is a preventable crisis with immediate consequences. Multiple factors are converging to push formerly homeless individuals and families back into homelessness:
- Replacement funds to sustain homes have not been committed.
- A new CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has been released, but even under the fastest timeline, funding will arrive after many grants have already expired.
- Ongoing federal litigation regarding these funding delays will not prevent grants from expiring or prevent funding gaps.
- Historically high rents, limited housing availability, and increased need for housing assistance mean that even brief funding disruptions can trigger lasting harm.
Expiring CoC grants support the backbone of communities’ homelessness response system, including:
- Housing programs for veterans, families, seniors, and children
- Rental assistance which flows to small business landlords
- Transitional housing programs
- Street outreach
- Domestic violence and survivor shelters
- Faith-based and community-based service providers
- Case management, and housing placement services
Month over month, we anticipate growing grant expirations, with close to $1.5 billion in funding expiring by end of June. January expirations alone will hit multiple states hard, including:
Texas (~$5.6 million), Florida (~$4.0 million), Ohio (~$4.0 million), North Carolina (~$3.3 million), and Tennessee (~$1.4 million), underscoring the national scale of the risk.
Communities cannot “absorb” these funding disruptions. Some have suggested that funding gaps are manageable because communities have faced delays before. But reports from leaders and providers across Community Solutions’ Built for Zero network — more than 160 communities across 38 states — make clear that today’s conditions are fundamentally different:
- CoC awards are not guaranteed or immediate, and do not prevent current grants from expiring
- Many services, especially small, rural, and faith-based organizations, lack reserves or credit lines to bridge funding interruptions
- The current housing affordability crisis means that loss of housing leads to longer episodes of homelessness
When smaller service providers — particularly those in rural areas-collapse due to funding disruptions — they cannot be replaced easily, leaving critical gaps.
Even short disruptions can destabilize entire support systems and take years to rebuild. The threat is not theoretical. It is already visible in the January 2026 funding expirations.
To prevent service shutdowns and housing loss, Community Solutions calls on Congress to act now and direct HUD to renew all CoC grants expiring in calendar year 2026 for a full 12 months, ensuring housing and critical support services are maintained for formerly homeless households who rely on them.
The Bottom line is that more than $100 million in CoC funding is expiring in January 2026 alone, and no safeguards exist to prevent returns to homelessness. Without immediate Congressional action, communities will be forced to cut off housing assistance and suspend essential support services—putting families, veterans, older adults, children, and people experiencing homelessness at direct risk of returning to homelessness.
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About Community Solutions
Community Solutions is a nonprofit working to make homelessness rare and brief. It leads Built for Zero, a network of more than 160 US communities using a field-tested, outcomes-focused approach to reducing and preventing homelessness.
Learn more at www.community.solutions or follow us at @CmtySolutions.
Media Contact:
Brian Jones
bjones@community.solutions
