For example, the administration is calling for a 51% cut to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, slashing more than $45 billion to the agency that oversees the nation’s affordable housing and homelessness efforts, according to Enterprise, a national affordable housing nonprofit.

Federal money for homeless programs has typically been distributed to localized “continuums of care” such as the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, which oversees the distribution and spending in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. But the administration instead wants to send more restricted funds to state governments to oversee.

In previous years, local continuums received funding through a competitive grant process, for which the Orlando region has scored among the highest in the nation, meaning more money came here. If the money were distributed instead to states based on population, local officials fear they would lose out.

Federal money accounts for about 75% of the Orlando continuum’s $28 million budget, though it’s unclear exactly how much local providers would be in line to lose.

Among other parts of the Trump administration’s proposal are ending funding for permanent supportive housing, a program that has housed the chronically homeless and disabled for decades.

Nationwide, 300,000 people have their rent covered by the program, and in Central Florida that includes as many as 1,600 chronically homeless and people with disabilities.

Martha Are, the CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, said about half of those clients are veterans.

“We’re talking about people, many of whom are just shy of institutionalization,” she said. “These are not people who are likely to be able to work full-time or not work to the level to afford their housing.”

It also would end long-term rental assistance programs, capping all rental assistance at two years. Advocates say covering somebody’s rent is a successful way to help them find employment or maintain a job and ultimately reach self-sufficiency.

The federal proposal would slash disbursements to continuums of care and instead issue money to states as Emergency Solutions Grants, which are more restrictive. For instance, those grants are allowed to be used for street outreach and shelter operations, Are said, but cannot be used for the region’s youth homelessness initiative called “Brighter Days,” or for regional planning and coordination.

“Right now when we need as many tools in our toolbox as possible, it would be unfortunate to lose some of the ones we know are most effective,” she said.

Homelessness nationwide has reached record levels, though it was flat year-over-year in Central Florida. But since 2022, the number of people unsheltered – those who sleep outside, under bridges, in vehicles and other areas – has spiked 156% in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.

Such increases are part of why some conservatives think it’s time to reform how the nation confronts homelessness, while local advocates maintain a lack of apartments available at affordable rents are to blame.

It’s unclear if the Trump proposal will ultimately clear Congress. But the plan reflects policies sought by conservatives for years and by Trump administration officials dating back to his first presidency, said Devon Kurtz, the public safety policy director for the Cicero Institute.

Cicero is a right-leaning think tank founded by tech investor and prominent Trump donor Joe Lonsdale.

The group was influential in pitching and convincing Florida leaders to pass a ban on public camping last year, and Kurtz said it has distributed research to the administration on policy ideas similar to the proposals. It recently published a policy brief backing such policies.

He argued that around the country, continuums of care aren’t accountable to voters and are an obstacle to reform efforts.

“Even if this bill is not successful, these changes are coming,” Kurtz said in an interview. “By this time next year, I don’t see any way where this program looks like it does now –  it’s only a matter of time.”

State control of homelessness dollars would provide more accountability, he argued.

But Gray said the regional cooperation and planning that could be lost has been critical to his agency’s success. In 2020, he said the Christian Service Center “rescued” six people from homelessness. That number improved yearly to reach1,243 last year. Among common methods used are paying people’s rents — many either simultaneously find jobs or are already employed — or paying for plane, bus or train tickets allowing individuals to be reunited with family out of town.

“You’re taking away this efficiency,” he said. “The idea that we wouldn’t be able to do that and neither would the other 54 agencies in the partnership boggles the mind.”

rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com