A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to overhaul how it funds homelessness programs nationwide, putting long-term housing at risk for thousands of vulnerable residents, including at least 2,080 people in Connecticut alone.

For decades, HUD's "Housing First" approach funded permanent supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness and disability, without requiring sobriety or other conditions before offering a home. HUD's new plan redirects $1.3 billion away from that model toward temporary housing instead, threatening residents who have lived in the same supportive units for 20 to 25 years.

"Being forced into losing your housing and not having a place to call home is super destabilizing," said Sarah Fox, chief executive of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, who added that she believes the impact "will be felt for generations."

Connecticut's homeless population has risen in recent years, driven largely by rising housing costs, not by any failure of permanent housing itself. Stripping away stable homes will not solve that crisis; it will deepen it, pushing disabled and long-term homeless residents out of the housing that has kept them stable for years.

HUD's leadership and Congress can still change course before this funding cycle takes full effect. Temporary housing and permanent supportive housing are not an either-or choice; both play a role, but the approach that has kept people housed for decades should not be dismantled over a policy preference in Washington.

Sign the petition to demand HUD reverse this funding overhaul and protect permanent supportive housing before thousands of long-term residents lose their homes.