Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) — As homelessness is steadily increasing throughout Monroe County, advocates for the unhoused say there’s a larger issue at play, but it lies in the hands of the federal government.
With 1,194 homeless people in the area, nonprofits believe potential cuts in federal funds could cause a larger spike in those unhoused.
Partners Ending Homelessness has a message if concern if federal funding is cut from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“We’re not going to be able to keep up with the numbers that we’re going to see,” said Tree Clemonds, the organization’s executive director.
The organization said it could lose about $12 million of its $16.5 million in federal funds.
“And it may be that that money is reallocated to other things like transitional short-term housing or street outreach services,” Clemonds said. “We don’t know that yet, but we’re anticipating that it’s going to be taken out of permanent supportive housing.”
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Clemonds said individuals receiving rental subsidies and support services to afford housing could be at risk of being homeless again.
“What you’ll see is a strain on resources in the community, including emergency resources, hospital resources, mental health support services, etc,.” said Clemonds.
Nicholas Coulter, co-founder and chief of development and community engagement at Person Centered Housing Options said losing federal funding would mean less access to affordable housing.
“People struggle to find jobs or they struggle with their income, we need to support them in finding an apartment,” said Coulter. “And if they can’t afford it, they simply can’t afford it, so if that that’s any indicator, we’re very concerned about how funding cuts or potential funding issues would impact families and older adults.”
Another worry is federal funds for some of the organization’s advocacy work, which could potentially withheld because of perceived diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“It may be that the current administration’s focus is not what some communities are prepared to follow through on,” Clemonds said. “And if we can’t say yes to all the things that they’re going to require, we may not even be able to apply for the dollars.”
The ongoing battle in Congress also adds to the concerns.
“If there’s Medicaid cuts, people are having to spend more money on health insurance or health needs less money on rental assistance or rental needs,” Coulter said.
The funding concerns nearly overshadow new data from the 2025 Point-in-Time count, showing Monroe County with a 30% spike in homelessness. Families and seniors are two rising areas of concern for nonprofits.
“We’re at a place where we’re not quite sure what the next thing is that we need to worry about, but we do know that the increase in these populations means we have to focus on that population and find better housing for them,” Coulter said.
Partners Ending Homelessness said funding for this year has not been cut, but it’s unclear what will happen for 2026.
“The last time our community applied for HUD dollars, we were awarded two years’ worth of funding,” said Clemonds. “Under this administration, we’ve been told that they’re going to say that we have to reapply for the second year of that funding, that it won’t be awarded.”
The nonprofit said it usually applies for federal funding during the summer months, but it’s waiting on the Notice of Funding Opportunity, which won’t come out until after the government shutdown.
“Which could lead us into next year,” Clemonds said. “And so there are going to be agencies that are probably going to run out of dollars and then have to reapply, and there will be a gap.”