(The Center Square) – The King County Regional Homelessness Authority is evaluating the impacts of a recent executive order signed by President Donald Trump targeting Housing First strategies.
Trump’s executive order, signed on July 24, aims to address the nation’s homelessness crisis by redirecting federal funding to substance abuse treatment, enforcing bans on open drug use and camping on public property, and prohibiting funding for drug injection sites, which no Washington municipality has established.
In a statement released on Thursday, KCRHA said it will have a better understanding of the impacts of Trump’s executive order once the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, releases the fiscal year 2025 Continuum of Care notice of funding opportunity.
As of now, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, or KCRHA, only started strategizing with internal departments, funders, and other external partners that rely on federal funding funneled through the agency.
“Now more than ever, advancing regionalism is essential to address the threats to our stretched homelessness system collaboratively,” KCRHA said in a statement.
The agency faces a potential loss of $25.4 million in 2026 federal funding from HUD if it does not revise its Housing First strategy, which prioritizes stable housing before addressing other root causes of homelessness.
HUD programs that provide funding to the King County region include the Emergency Solutions Grant, HOME Investment Partnership Programs and the Community Development Block Grant.
The HUD Continuum of Care program is the third largest funding source for KCRHA. This year, the agency received $23 million from the program, down 66% from the $68 million it received in 2024. In total, King County received $66 million from HUD this year.
The Center Square previously reported that roughly 4,490 people could be impacted by the loss of federal funding, including 241 employees across KCRHA funded programs who are at risk of furlough.
A potential loss of millions in funding comes as the rate of homelessness in King County continues rising. KCRHA counted 16,868 people experiencing homelessness in the county as part of the federally-required Point-in-Time Count. That is an all-time high for the region.
