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Advocates press council for $50 million in emergency rental assistance and expanded homelessness supports
Summary
Several speakers representing Housing Justice Montgomery, Housing advocacy groups and residents urged the County Council to fund large-scale emergency rental assistance, rapid rehousing and support services, citing thousands of households at risk of eviction and multiple specific funding requests presented during FY26 budget hearings.
Housing advocates and residents urged Montgomery County leaders to allocate tens of millions of dollars for emergency rental assistance, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing and storage for evicted families during FY26 budget hearings.
Multiple witnesses associated with Housing Justice Montgomery and other grassroots groups requested $50,000,000 for emergency rental assistance. Ibrahim Alashi, who said he was unhoused for nearly two years and organizes with Housing Justice Montgomery, asked the council to “fund 50,000,000 to help all the 8,732 household asks,” and described families losing possessions on the street. Speakers using different datasets described slightly different household counts: Lukman Safai and others referenced 4,723 households projected to need help in FY26 with an average grant of $10,581 per household; the $10,581 figure also appeared in other testimony.
Aziz Sani (Housing Justice Montgomery) outlined a five‑part funding platform that included $50,000,000 for rental assistance and additional amounts to cover sheltering, permanent supportive housing, moving and storage assistance and retrofit programs. He described these items as foundational to preventing homelessness.
Residents with lived experience described the human impact. Rasheeda Lee, who said she had been in a shelter nine months after job loss, told the council better‑funded housing assistance could have kept her family in their apartment. Lauren Diggins, a working single parent, described unsafe and unsanitary housing conditions at a property she lived in and asked the council to reallocate $3.2 million proposed for sheriffs’ evictions toward housing stability programs.
Advocates also requested $2.4 million for storage assistance to preserve families’ belongings for up to six months after eviction and $150,000 for retrofit programs to make homes accessible for residents with disabilities (testimony identified Rebuilding Together as a nonprofit partner). Numerous speakers tied the request to the loss of federal jobs and anticipated reductions in state and federal funding for residents.
No formal vote occurred at the hearing; the testimony will inform council budget decisions during committee review. Advocates asked the council to prioritize eviction prevention and rapid rehousing to reduce longer‑term costs of homelessness and to preserve families’ stability.
