State officials and local providers warn SNAP and HUD changes risk raising homelessness

State officials and local housing providers told the Senate Interim Committee on Housing and Development that recent federal changes to SNAP eligibility and shifting HUD guidance could worsen housing instability and impose significant administrative burdens on state and local programs.

Jessica Amaya Hoffman, SNAP director at the Oregon Department of Human Services, said roughly 757,000 Oregonians receive SNAP (about one in six residents), with the average household benefit about $313 per month and an estimated $183 per person. She described key changes in House Resolution 1 (HR 1) that expand work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (ABOD), increase the age range subject to work rules, lower the dependent-age threshold and remove several exemptions. Jessica said about 310,000 adults may need to be reviewed for work requirements and that the agency expects approximately 90,880 people could lose SNAP benefits for inability to meet those requirements if they cannot document work or qualifying activities.

"SNAP is not just a food program. It's a gateway to multiple stabilizing supports," Jessica said, warning that benefit loss can cascade into loss of other supports and increase vulnerability to eviction and homelessness.

Katie Egan, housing and homelessness policy advisor at ODHS, explained the link between food assistance and housing stability: SNAP helps households allocate limited cash to pay rent and utilities; the loss of SNAP can increase homelessness risk. She said HR 1 eliminates exemptions that previously covered veterans, people experiencing homelessness, and former foster youth — populations already at high risk of housing instability.

Local presenters described practical consequences. Kate Budd (Lane County human services) reported a $7 million drop in shelter funding this year, a loss of 60 emergency shelter beds, and 3,500 fewer households receiving ORDAP rent assistance compared with the prior fiscal year. Molly Heiss (Neighbor Impact) outlined Central Oregon's long voucher and subsidized-housing wait lists, severe transportation barriers to meeting work or volunteer requirements, and the disproportionate strain on rural communities. Andrea Myrie (Corvallis Housing First) and Jessica Blakely (Salem Housing Authority) described immediate operational challenges: reduced voucher issuance, unclear HUD guidance (including a recently rescinded set of long-standing policy guidance), shrinking administrative fees, and uncertainty because the federal government has operated under continuing resolutions since 2023.

Blakely said some HUD notices have asked housing authorities to cut expenses and slow voucher issuance; housing authorities are operating on 2023 funding levels while 2026 expenses rise. She warned 2026 could be "a year of scarcity" for Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) programs absent federal budget clarity.

Committee members pressed for details on verifying volunteer hours that count toward work requirements, agency capacity to process eligibility reviews, and the differentiated impacts across rural and urban areas. ODHS staff said volunteer hours can count but require third-party verification and the state is seeking staffing to manage the anticipated workload.

The testimony underscored interconnected risk: SNAP reductions and HUD uncertainty could increase food insecurity, homelessness, demand for shelters and eviction-prevention services, and administrative costs for state and local agencies. Committee members were urged to consider funding and policy responses to mitigate downstream housing impacts as the legislature enters the session.