Southern Nevada confronts rising homelessness amid new federal funding rules

Las Vegas homelessness advocates are warning that new federal funding shifts could deepen the region’s housing crisis.

The Trump administration plans to boost homelessness spending but cut sharply from permanent supportive housing in favor of transitional programs tied to work and substance treatment. Critics estimate up to 170,000 people nationally could lose stable housing under the changes.

In Clark County, the effect is already clear: Federal funding shortfalls leave just $7.5 million to renew nearly $20 million in permanent housing projects for 2026. Advocates warn that a shortage of funding for long-term housing could lead to more evictions as Southern Nevada’s homeless population hits record highs. The gap stems from Trump administration rules that cap spending on permanent supportive housing at 30% of the local homeless housing budget.

We’ll still be able to serve our partners and other people that we need to serve by being flexible with how we get our funding,” said Catrina Grigsby-Thedford, executive director of the Nevada Homeless Alliance, which provides policy advocacy, information and training on best practices and resources for homelessness. “Our corporate partners have always been great in our community to help fill gaps. We just can’t be 100% reliant on the federal funding sources for our needs, and that’s just a pivot that we’ll have to do in our state.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s new policy “restores accountability to homelessness programs and promotes self-sufficiency among vulnerable Americans,” HUD said. “It redirects the majority of funding to transitional housing and supportive services, ending the status quo that perpetuated homelessness through a self-sustaining slush fund.”

The department also said it would increase funding for homeless programs from $3.6 billion to $3.9 billion.

HUD’s “Continuum of Care” program works with communities to provide housing and certain additional services without a designated length of stay to sheltered and unsheltered people until they can coordinate more permanent housing.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness said the federal government moved away from work and treatment-first housing two decades ago because it was “proven to be more costly and less effective at ending people’s homelessness.”

That organization estimated 218,000 people in 2024 relied on the federal Continuum of Care program for housing and services. It added that families with children, older adults and those with a disability or chronic illness especially benefited from this program.

About 87% of all Continuum of Care program funds ending in 2026 are set to support permanent housing in some capacity, but with the new policy change, 30% of the funds at most will be allowed for that purpose.

The application for the next grant cycle closes Jan. 14, according to the notice of funding opportunity. About 7,000 awards nationwide are expected to be issued.

Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said in a statement that “HUD’s new funding priorities slam the door” on people who have secured stable housing through the permanent housing programs and that “homelessness will only increase because of this reckless and irresponsible decision.”

“This is an indefensible betrayal of HUD’s mission,” Oliva said. “Instead of helping communities end homelessness, HUD is actively fueling its growth with these decisions. As a former senior HUD staffer, I can honestly say that I don’t know what HUD is doing, and I don’t think they do either.”

The policy change comes months after President Donald Trump in July signed the “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” executive order, which required the Department of Housing and Urban Development to “increase accountability” in grants awarded for assistance and transitional living programs, and end support for housing-first policies.

In 2023, the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care was awarded almost $15 million in grants from HUD to be dispersed over three years to address local homelessness. Programs funded through these resources included rapid rehousing, case management and supportive services, the county said in 2023.

“With its wide-reaching effects, these funds are a major source of critical aid for those seeking assistance with homelessness and housing services,” Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson said at the time. “Federal grant funding makes it possible to provide crucial support for individuals in need.”

Clark County didn’t respond to a request for officials to comment on this story.

Homelessness is at a record high in the United States, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, up 18% last year, from 653,104 people in 2023 to 771,480 in 2024.

States with higher rents, like California, Hawaii and Nevada, have higher rates of homelessness.

The 2024 homeless census in Clark County ­— the most recent Point-in-Time homeless census in Southern Nevada — revealed that 7,906 people were experiencing homelessness during a single night in January 2024. It was a 20% increase from the 2023 count, and the third consecutive year of rising homelessness in the region.

Many homeless individuals rely on shelters and programs funded through the Continuum of Care. Nearly half of the homeless population counted as homeless in 2024 were in shelters, a nearly 33% increase that reflects local efforts to expand housing programs.

In 2024, about half of Clark County’s 9,013 beds were devoted to long-term housing options, including permanent supportive housing, other permanent units and rapid rehousing — a strategy that pairs housing search and relocation help with short- and medium-term rent assistance so people and families experiencing homelessness can move quickly into a stable home.

The county said permanent supportive housing funded through the Continuum of Care program made up the largest share of that stock, at about 22%. During the 2024 count, roughly 7 in 10 permanent supportive housing beds were filled, compared with 85% of beds in other permanent housing programs, and every rapid rehousing bed was in use.

The Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care Board last week voted to prioritize renewing permanent supportive housing projects over all other programs in an attempt to minimize the effect of losing housing capacity in the coming year, adding that the 30% HUD cap “creates a tremendous risk of eviction (and) disruption of permanent housing for hundreds of formerly homeless individuals.”

Grigsby-Thedford said she’s not worried despite the potential loss of funding. She believes the community will step up to help fill gaps experienced by local nonprofits.

She explained that Clark County and the nonprofits based here have taken more steps to address homelessness and offer a wide variety of solutions for the homeless community based on what is best for the individual. It’s a plan that has worked, partially because organizations have been creative in where to get funding and how to use it.

That creativity will be needed, Grigsby-Thedford added.

“The best course of action, in my opinion, for mandates like that, is that organizations that want to continue with housing first and no preconditions just have to find flexible funding because there’s no cookie cutter solution for everyone,” Grigsby-Thedford said.

“I feel like we’re beginning to be more proactive, and we’re looking at how people are falling into homelessness, and what can we do to have the safety net there so then we can focus on the people who are on the streets. So, it’s just all about being creative with the resources, and actually, in my opinion, talking to the people who are experiencing that traumatic experience of just being homeless,” she said.