TREASURE COAST — New directives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development could significantly change how homeless services are delivered on the Treasure Coast, according to the region's lead homelessness services provider.
Rayme Nuckles, executive director of the Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council, said the changes would limit the organization's ability to use federal funding for permanent housing assistance and rental support.
"The administration is removing the ability for us to find housing and assist individuals with their rental payment with the current NOFA that we'll be applying for that will be due later in the month of August. So it's a significant decrease in the amount of people that we will be able to serve, which means that there will be more individuals who will remain on the streets, and it will make it more challenging for us to provide services to those individuals," Nuckles said.
Under the current model, homeless service providers can help people move from shelters into permanent housing, allowing resources to be reused as individuals regain stability. Nuckles said the new direction places greater emphasis on temporary shelter options.
"The current system allows us to move someone into shelter, be there for maybe 30 to 90 days, help them with their services and supports that they need to be successful, and then move them into permanent housing in the community, renting from local landlords. And that means we can move people through our system more quickly. By reverting back to a system that was done over 20 years ago, it will definitely impact the number of people that we can serve," he said.
Nuckles said local providers already face a shortage of available shelter space, making it difficult to quickly shift toward a shelter-focused approach.
"We do not have the capacity to adapt to these new priorities because there is a lack of shelter beds in all three counties. You know, we've been working to increase those shelter beds. And so with this, it will provide additional shelter beds," he said. "But again, unfortunately, some individuals will linger in the system."
He also expressed concern that placing greater emphasis on shelters could result in people remaining homeless for longer periods of time.
"Shelter services inadvertently keep people in the system for a longer period of time, especially if they don't have the income to support themselves in permanent housing," he said.
Nuckles said the loss of rental assistance could create additional challenges for people already struggling to remain housed, particularly seniors and residents living on fixed incomes.
"We house over 140 households currently, and some of those individuals could potentially lose housing if those funds are not allocated to continue to assist them. We have an elevated number of elderly individuals who are becoming homeless because, you know, they retired thinking they were going to be able to survive on their social security, and they've been priced out of the market. So it's very challenging for elderly individuals and those individuals who may have a disability to maintain housing because housing has become unaffordable for individuals who are low income," he said.
According to the annual Point-in-Time Count conducted earlier this year, the Treasure Coast's homeless population is estimated at about 600 people.
Nuckles said he expects that number could increase if the new HUD directives take effect as proposed.
He called on local governments and community partners to continue expanding resources to help people experiencing homelessness and those at risk of losing housing.