Orange County moves to protect households as HUD funding and Continuum of Care changes threaten permanent supportive housing

Orange County officials and nonprofit providers urged immediate action on Oct. 15 after federal signals that HUD'funding priorities and an upcoming Continuum of Care NOFO could sharply reduce support for permanent supportive housing (PSH).

Julia Bidwell, director of Orange County Housing and Community Development, told the commission there are 489 emergency housing voucher (EHV) families at risk if federal EHV funding sunsets. To avoid abrupt displacement, Bidwell said the housing authority has proposed an administrative-plan change to allow up to 100 EHV households to transfer onto the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) waiting list by December 2025, with a gradual transition of remaining households through July 2028.

"There are 489 emergency housing voucher families at risk of losing housing," Bidwell said, urging a phased absorption to protect those already housed while balancing long-term waiting-list commitments.

County staff and providers warned that a reported HUD proposal to cap COC funding for permanent housing at 30 percent of awards would force many PSH projects to lose operating subsidies and could push hundreds back into homelessness. Douglas Beck, director of the Office of Care Coordination, summarized the county's concern that shifting rules and proposed NOFO language (reports in national outlets and early HUD communications) could cut funding for programs that now account for about 80'plus percent of local COC awards.

Nonprofit leaders—Dawn Price (Friendship Shelter), Timothy Wynne (Mercy House), Nishtha Mahendra (Families Forward), Jordan Weyberg (Illumination Foundation) and Puja Bala—testified that funded PSH and rapid rehousing programs house thousands countywide and that immediate planning is required to avoid mass displacement. Examples cited: Friendship Shelter's 35-unit PSH program and Mercy House's 373 COC-funded units.

Commission action: After public comment, the commission approved a motion directing the Office of Care Coordination to submit a memo to the Board of Supervisors describing the commission's concerns about Continuum of Care funding risks, prioritizing preservation of households already housed through COC/HUD rental assistance, and asking county departments to develop alternative funding recommendations and return to the Board. The motion passed by voice vote.

Why it matters: County staff said absorbing EHV households into the HCV program protects currently housed families but reduces capacity to use vouchers for new projects and for other system goals. Providers warned the loss of COC-funded leasing assistance would likely cause many tenants with disabilities and low incomes to return to homelessness.

What's next: The county will send the commission's memo to the Board of Supervisors and begin mapping agencies, funding streams and bridge options; staff said some local housing authorities are positioned to absorb households while others may not.

Quotation: "This will become an emergency the second that HUD drops its notice of funding availability," said Dawn Price, CEO of Friendship Shelter.