Washington County housing officials warn Emergency Housing Voucher program will end early; staff roll-out mitigation plan

Molly Rogers, executive director of the Housing Authority of Washington County, told the authority board on Oct. 7 that the federal Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program — created under the American Rescue Plan — will end earlier than originally planned and that the authority is preparing to help affected households transition.

“Based on what we know right now, we’re not anticipating immediate impacts to our work,” Rogers said, while cautioning that program funding could run short if a federal shutdown continues beyond mid-November and that the EHV sunset will create challenges for participants.

Why it matters: The EHV program provided temporary rental assistance to people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness during the COVID-19 response. Washington County staff said the program was originally slated to run through Sept. 30, 2030, but recent federal funding decisions mean the program will terminate much earlier, putting households that rely on those vouchers at risk of losing rent subsidy.

Staff numbers and timeline: Em Nichols, a PHA program coordinator, said the county was granted 89 nonrenewable EHVs and is currently serving 78 households (a total of 185 individuals), including 84 children and 67 people who meet HUD’s elderly-or-disabled definitions. Nichols said about 80% of those households are extremely low income and that the median annual income in the county EHV cohort is under $12,000. With current attrition projections the Housing Authority estimates its EHV funding would run out in November 2026 if no changes are made; staff said actions underway could extend coverage to about April 2027.

Actions staff are taking: Liz Morris, rental assistance division manager, described a phased mitigation plan. The authority obtained an administrative waiver from HUD on Sept. 10, 2025, to add current EHV participants to the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list with preference. Morris said staff will prioritize lateral transfers to available mainstream vouchers and refer households to other subsidy programs and affordable housing options where possible.

Jill Chen, deputy director, said staff will notify impacted households immediately after the meeting and will reach out by email and phone. “We expect to be notifying the households impacted immediately after this meeting this week,” Chen said. She cautioned, however, that federal funding sources are currently “maxed out” and the county does not have spare vouchers to cover all EHV households.

Other options and limits: Board members asked about moving EHV households into regional/local rent-assistance (ARLA) or other state/regional programs. Chen and Rogers said the authority is in discussions with Metro and local homeless service partners about whether ARLA or other local resources could absorb some households, but those funds are limited. Rogers noted neighboring agencies are facing similar problems — for example, Home Forward reported roughly 400 households affected by the EHV sunset in its service area — underscoring the regional scale of the issue.

No board vote was required: Staff emphasized this item was informational; the board did not take formal action on Oct. 7. Staff said they will return with updates and asked board members to help coordinate with county and regional partners as staff implement the waiver and outreach plan.

What’s next: Staff said they will (a) notify the 78 households directly, (b) place them on the HCV wait list with preference pursuant to the HUD waiver, (c) monitor congressional appropriations and other subsidy openings through winter and 2026, and (d) provide intensified housing navigation and landlord outreach as the program approaches its final phases. Chen said staff project that, even with mitigation, “it could be as high as 10 to 25 households may not find housing through this mechanism.”

Context note: The EHV program was funded nationally through ARPA to address pandemic-related homelessness; the Housing Authority described its local corpus of vouchers as nonrenewable and subject to attrition rules that prevent turnover issuance after September 2023.

Ending: Housing authority leaders asked the board and community partners to support continued advocacy and coordination as staff work to preserve housing stability for the affected households.