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HUD NOFO shifts and early cold-weather shelter usage prompt planning questions from council
Summary
The Office of Homeless Services briefed the committee on HUD’s newly released Continuum of Care NOFO, which emphasizes transitional housing and caps permanent-housing funding; the city opened its cold-weather overflow shelter for two nights, housing 156 and 213 people respectively, and staff warned the NOFO’s compressed timeline could force re-prioritization.
The Office of Homeless Services told the Public Health & Safety Committee that HUD released the Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Thursday night with major policy changes that will affect how local programs seek federal funding.
Allison Cantway said the NOFO shifts emphasis away from permanent supportive housing toward transitional housing, street outreach and time-limited services, and that HUD’s new guidance may cap permanent housing funding at roughly 30% of a community’s allocation while allowing up to 70% to be directed to other service types. Cantway said HUD has also shortened the application and planning timeline; she said the Performance Evaluation Committee (PEC) will meet the next day to consider implications for Nashville’s rating and ranking process.
"This NOFO proposes cutting up to 70% of funding from any continuum of care and it caps funding for permanent housing...at 30% of the community's funding," Cantway said, adding that many Continuums of Care nationwide are similarly out of alignment and will need to determine how to maximize funding while upholding local values and best practices.
Councilmembers pressed Cantway on how the city will reconcile prior strategies emphasizing permanent housing with the NOFO’s new priorities and asked what the local funding "delta" might look like. Cantway said local applicants and agencies will have to evaluate whether and how to pivot programs and that the PEC will make recommendations to the Homelessness Planning Council (HPC), which ultimately approves the rating and ranking that go to HUD.
Cantway also provided an operational update on the city’s cold-weather overflow shelter: the first night hosted 156 people and the second hosted 213. She said the shelter serves hot dinner and breakfast, distributes snack packs and bedding (sheets, blankets), and offers on-site clinical support through partnerships with Meharry Medical College and the Metropolitan Board of Health. Cantway estimated the city has previously scaled up to about 400 temporary beds during cold-weather operations and said the shelter will open on nights that fall below 32°F.
"We hosted the first two nights of this season...the first night we had 156 people. The second night we had 213," Cantway said. She warned the committee that HUD may not announce awards until spring, likely April or May, and urged continued local planning and outreach.
Committee members asked for continued updates and suggested the chair call an emergency meeting if the PEC/HPC process or award notifications indicate significant reductions in permanent-housing funding that could displace households.
