Among the budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration is $6 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which could translate to the loss of Section 8 housing to 1,400 families statewide, about half of them in Albuquerque, said Hank Hughes, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness.
Section 8 is a joint federal and state program that subsidizes housing for families struggling to obtain affordable and safe housing.
Hughes was among the speakers during a protest and news conference held Thursday morning at Barrett Foundation, which operates an emergency shelter for women and children, as well as several supportive housing programs. Many of those present held pillows to symbolize the people and families who would lose their affordable housing and likely become homeless if the HUD cuts materialize.
Calling the cuts "mean-spirited," Huges said 1,400 families would lose their Section 8 housing "almost overnight." Currently, "only one in four people who qualifies for publicly supported housing gets it now," so the right thing to do would be to increase the HUD budget, he said.
"Housing is health care," said Andrew Estocin, deputy director of the Albuquerque Housing Authority, which provides assistance to nearly 5,000 households, including 3,000 children. "Every dollar spent on housing saves our city from $5 to $7 in things such as hospital visits, community services, police calls, rescue calls and school truancy. Without housing, everything else falls apart."
The proposed cuts to HUD will also impact the ability of the Barrett Foundation to serve the women and children who come to them for help, said executive director Connie Chavez. During the last fiscal year 443 women and children were served at the Barrett House emergency shelter, and 324 exited it through supportive housing.
"We are currently experiencing a lack of affordable housing in our community," she said. Nevertheless, Barrett House receives more than 500 calls a year from women and children looking for emergency shelter and housing provisions.
The city of Albuquerque will also feel the impact of HUD budget cuts, said Diane Dolan, policy analyst for District 2 City Councilor Isaac Benton. The loss of federal funds would impact local housing initiatives for low and moderate income families as well as the homeless — initiatives that are funded in part by community development block grants from HUD.
Ultimately, the number of housing vouchers available would decline, and people will have to wait longer for affordable housing, she said.
