Providers warn of a supportive‑housing funding cliff as conference committee weighs investments

Supportive‑housing providers and advocates told the conference committee that federal contract volatility is creating urgent state funding needs.

Witnesses from Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, Hearth Connection, and the Housing Justice Center urged conferees to include new state funding for supportive housing in the omnibus bill, citing expired federal contracts, pending litigation, and delays in HUD grant renewals. Ben Helvick Anderson said earlier emergency actions were helpful but insufficient and asked the Legislature to act to prevent service disruptions and preserve housing for vulnerable residents.

Christine Davis (Hearth Connection) and Anne Smedick (Housing Justice Center) described a fragile Continuum of Care funding environment and warned that many providers face contract expirations in coming months. Henry Parker of CommonBond urged adoption of House HIB levels and separately backed the governor’s $33,000,000 proposal for supportive‑housing services to bridge federal shortfalls.

Committee chairs expressed awareness of the problem and noted they were considering how to fold supportive‑housing funding into final negotiations. No specific appropriation for supportive housing was agreed at the hearing; conferees said they would continue work before the conference report is finalized.