Federal

HUD Moves Away From ‘Housing First’ Toward Transitional Model in Push for Better Results

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is moving to fundamentally change what it rewards in federal homelessness programs, proposing new funding advantages for communities that emphasize transitional housing, treatment and recovery services, sober housing, employment assistance and partnerships with law enforcement and first responders. For the Virgin Islands, the shift could directly affect how the territory designs programs and competes for money through HUD's Continuum of Care program, which provides the principal stream of federal funding for local efforts addressing homelessness. HUD published a 54-page notice Friday outlining activities it intends to favor through bonuses and other incentives in future Continuum of Care competitions. The department says it wants to move away from what it describes as an excessive federal reliance on "Housing First" — the longstanding approach of placing people into permanent housing without requiring sobriety, treatment or partici...