EVERETT, JUNE 3: Last week U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) heard from organizations addressing homelessness and housing in Snohomish County that are at risk of losing federal funding after the Trump Administration placed new restrictions on a key grant in homelessness prevention.
Snohomish County announced last month that they joined several other jurisdictions in suing the current administration citing unlawful conditions placed on federal funding grants without approval from Congress.
They refer to two grants, the Federal Transit Administration funding and, more notably, the Continuum of Care (CoC) funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
In March head of HUD Scott Turner posted a letter on X with a string of demands for recipients of CoC funding. The letter demanded that cities comply with Trump’s executive orders, such as eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programs, among other conditions.
Although that contract has been rescinded removing mentions of “DEI” or “sanctuary” immigration policies, the new contract prohibits the promotion of “gender ideology”, elective abortions and the protection of illegal aliens.
The County anticipates that its partner agencies—who provide rapid rehousing and rental assistance, as well as specific services for young adults, and people with disabilities—will not be able to sign off on the administration’s new conditions.
“The Continuum of Care (CoC) grants are essential for preserving our community’s homeless housing system, which is a collaborative effort by local organizations working alongside the county to meet urgent needs of local residents. The new stipulations on contracts for previously awarded federal grants seek to force local compliance with controversial executive orders – including orders related to immigration status, health care, and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts – by using this crucial funding as a lever,” the County said in a press release in May.
The County had already been allocated $16.7 million in CoC grant funding this year but the funding is now conditional on meeting the Trump Administrations conditions.
“Without these funds, there’s no way at the local level we can make up the difference,” Mary Jane, County Human Services Director said.
CoC grant funding goes toward 23 programs that offer housing and supportive services for homeless individuals and families in the county including Cocoon House, Housing Hope, YWCA, and Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County.
653 affordable housing units in the County are supported by CoC funding under Housing Hope, Interim CEO Kathryn Opina said during the roundtable discussion on May 29.
“Without this funding, we will see a significant increase in homelessness, particularly for families with children and other vulnerable populations…,” Opina said.
Cocoon House located in Everett serves homeless youth and receives $1.3 million from the County’s $16.7 total of CoC funding. One program that encompasses is managing 17 rental units Cocoon for young adults, which is used for immediate emergency crisis housing.
“We get to watch young people go from street level homelessness to stability, to thriving in their own unit as we walk away. We have a ton of success stories from that and it is one of the projects that is, unfortunately, impacted directly,” Cocoon House CEO Joseph Alonzo said.
On May 8, District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) preventing the Trump Administration from imposing these conditions on CoC funds or withholding CoC funds based on the conditions, and on May 23 she extended that TRO to June 4.
After the TRO expires, the court will hear arguments and determine whether HUD’s action constitutes an abuse of executive power or violates federal law. The current continuum grant dollars for the County end on July 1.
Murray is hoping to take what she heard to the Senate for her case to reinstate HUD funding without restricting conditions.
