Philadelphia City Council urges HUD to protect permanent supportive housing after stark testimony
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Summary
After hearing testimony from providers and residents who said a HUD funding change could put more than 1,200 Philadelphia supportive-housing units at risk, City Council adopted a resolution calling on HUD to preserve investments in permanent supportive housing.
Philadelphia City Council on Feb. 24, 2026, adopted a resolution urging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to maintain and expand investments in permanent supportive housing after residents and providers warned a recent HUD notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) could force closures and displacements.
The council’s action followed extensive public comment from homelessness providers and people with lived experience. Janine Lesitzky, president and CEO of Mental Health Partnerships, warned that the NOFO’s shift away from permanent supportive housing "could put more than 1,200 units at risk" in Philadelphia and urged the council to press HUD to restore funding priorities.
"Permanent supportive housing is the most rigorously studied and consistently effective intervention for people experiencing chronic homelessness," Lesitzky said during the public-comment period. Angie Nelson, executive director of Pathways to Housing Pennsylvania, told council that her organization had been forced to end leases on 26 apartments after recent funding disruptions and said its programs could shrink from serving about 500 people to roughly 125 if cuts proceed.
Donna Bullock, president and CEO of Project HOME, said the agency manages more than 1,000 units and that "more than 300 of those permanent supportive housing units stand to be at risk" under proposed federal changes. Jay Kossman, chief medical officer of Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers, described how stigma and criminalization embedded in law discourage testing and treatment and said stable housing is essential to public-health outcomes.
Councilmember Landau moved for adoption of the resolution (listed on the record as resolution 260122), which "calls on the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to expand investments into the evidence-based solution to address homelessness that is permanent supportive housing and condemns the significant negative impacts such cuts to funding will have on Philadelphia's residents," according to the measure’s title. The motion carried by voice vote and the resolution was adopted.
What this means: the council’s resolution is a formal request to HUD and a public statement of local policy priorities; it does not carry federal force. Supporters said the measure aims to shore up political pressure and spotlight concrete risks to housing providers and residents while the federal process continues.
Councilmembers and witnesses repeatedly emphasized local impacts and cited agency-level numbers given during testimony. Several witnesses described immediate harms — ended leases, stalled projects, and lost beds — while also urging continued city investment in permanent supportive housing.
The council did not record a roll-call vote for the resolution in the transcript; the motion carried by voice vote. Next steps include continued engagement with federal officials, further outreach from affected providers, and monitoring of HUD’s rulemaking process.
