Homelessness Crisis in America: “Efficiency” at What Cost? The Attack on Affordable Housing and the Programs That Keep Americans Afloat
- Keona Shorter
- Jun 16
- 3 min read
In a time when a record number of Americans are facing homelessness or the brink of it, the Trump Administration — along with Elon Musk and the ironically named Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — is dismantling the very programs designed to keep people afloat: food stamps, free school lunch, Medicaid, and vital housing support.
📊 The Latest Numbers
Maricopa County (Phoenix area): On the night of January 27, 2025, 9,734 people were experiencing homelessness — a 3% increase from the prior year — with 53% unsheltered and 47% in shelters or transitional housing shelterforce.org+5cbpp.org+5nlihc.org+5azmag.gov.
National affordable housing shortage: There is currently a deficit of 7.1 million homes for extremely low-income renters — just 35 homes available per 100 needy households nlihc.org+1opportunityhome.org+1.
HUD rental assistance reach: Federal programs assist nearly 10 million people across the U.S. — yet only 1 in 4 eligible households receive housing vouchers businessinsider.com+1businessinsider.com+1.
Housing Choice Voucher utilization: Of those who receive vouchers, only 60% succeed in securing housing, often due to landlord refusals and administrative red tape splcenter.org+6businessinsider.com+6time.com+6.
Federal rental assistance budget: For FY 2025, HUD requested a total of $63.5 billion toward rental assistance and homelessness programs — representing 87% of its discretionary budget archives.hud.gov+1huduser.gov+1.
A Dangerous Path of Cuts and Chaos
Elon Musk and DOGE have reportedly called for vigilantly cutting HUD staff:
50% of staff in voucher, public housing, and Native American housing offices (serving 7 million people).
44% in project-based rental assistance (another 2 million).
84% in homelessness assistance and disaster recovery.
77% in fair-housing enforcement sfchronicle.com.
These moves would throttle the administration and disbursement of tens of billions of dollars in aid — causing delays, inefficiency, and unassisted individuals left without shelter.
Delayed Funds, Disrupted Lives
HUD froze and delayed funding earlier this year. Courts have since halted some actions, but delays persist — risking landlord exits from voucher programs and forcing grantees to stall local planning and services businessinsider.com+6shelterforce.org+6washingtonpost.com+6.
Undermining Protectors and Rights
The Administration has also:
Rolled back protections for transgender and nonbinary people in shelters.
Weakened enforcement of the Fair Housing Act.
Pushed punitive work requirements that would hurt vulnerable children, caregivers, and people with disabilities huduser.gov.
Not Just Housing — It's an Ecosystem
These cuts occur alongside threats to:
SNAP/food stamps
Free school lunch programs
Medicaid access
Disability and Social Security programs
These supports, like housing, fund lives, not luxuries.
What Must Change
To address the crisis, we need:
Expand Housing Choice Vouchers to cover all eligible families.
Strengthen fair-housing enforcement.
Ensure timely delivery of homelessness assistance funds.
Invest in wraparound services — healthcare, education, employment support — proven to prevent homelessness and instability.
2025 Phoenix Spotlight
Maricopa County's 2025 Point-in-Time (PIT) count shows homelessness is worsening locally, with unsheltered individuals rising rapidly. Phoenix’s new source-of-income law helps voucher holders — but statewide support remains limited sfchronicle.com+3axios.com+3time.com+3azmag.gov.
Take Action Now
Call or email your representatives demanding HUD’s full funding and staffing.
Speak with Phoenix officials to maintain voucher access locally.
Support local and national advocacy groups that protect renters, the unhoused, and low-income families.
If we don’t reverse this tide, lives will be at risk — and the cost of inaction will be measured in human suffering.
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