MOUNT PLEASANT — $5 billion of funds meant to be used for emergency housing until 2030 is now projected to run out by 2026.
That projection comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“I don’t know a lot of options right now,” said Mount Pleasant Housing Commission Section 8 coordinator Amanda Blake.
Trying to find out what happens when $5 billion worth of federal funds used for an emergency housing voucher program runs out early is not easily answered.
Maybe…could and we hope are the words that keep circling around.
“The current administration could choose to follow through with the programming, which is supposed to last until 2030.”
Blake says the voucher program dates back to 2023, and the $5 billion was expected to last for housing costs for people who fit the emergency housing criteria. But when unexpected inflation hit the housing market hard, the money won’t be enough to cover housing costs through the initial term the program was set for.
“We need to be realistic about the rate of pay not rising quite as much as the inflation and the rental prices. So, a lot of families find themselves needing a bit of assistance for a very long time,” said Blake.
If the money runs dry by 2026, hundreds of Michigan families could be in danger.
“The idea when they rolled out the emergency vouchers was that if we had families who were still lower income and unable to pay the entirety of their rent, that there would be the possibility of these folks ending up getting a regular voucher. That way they wouldn’t need a special use voucher any longer,” said Blake. “So, we wouldn’t have to worry about displacing these families. As is stands right now, if they cut off funding in 2026, these families are more likely than not to lose all of their housing.”
Right now, a majority of Michigan shelters are out of space and they don’t know if the current administration will add more money to the housing program so it can last through its original expected date.
We will continue to follow this story as it progresses.