Agencies that provide homeless services for people in the Big Bend are worried about their federal funding. The concern comes as agency leaders say they’re seeing more people who can’t keep up with rent hikes and rising grocery bills.
Johnna Coleman says she’s worried. “There is fear,” she said.
Coleman is the executive director of the Big Bend Continuum of Care, which oversees and coordinates homeless services in the area.
“We are extremely unnerved by the things that we are hearing," she said, "the uncertainly that we are all feeling with the stability of our organizations, with our partner agencies in a variety of sectors being threatened with a decrease in funding.”
Coleman says her agency’s state and local funding is "pretty secure" for now; she’s worried about potential changes in how federal funding could be allocated. Her organization functions as a pass-through, working with its partner agencies to provide case management, direct assistance and workforce development to people experiencing homelessness.
“Tied to every service that we provide is a person, is a household," Coleman said. "It could possibly be a child. It could be someone who is elderly. And with a little bit of funding that they’re getting from our programs, it’s helping them stay afloat. It’s keeping them housed and providing stability. And without that, they will not be able to maintain housing.”
Coleman says she’s asking lawmakers from the Big Bend to push back on any major changes to funding for homeless services.
She says she’s worried about one potential change that could require her agency to renew its federal funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She ’s worried that could mean a shift in focus from long-term housing to more temporary solutions for the unhoused community.
