The building is located less than a block away from the site of a formerly sprawling homeless encampment infamously dubbed The Jungle, where hundreds of people lived in rough conditions, exemplifying the region’s harsh wealth gaps and intense unaffordability.
While The Charles was built using a substantial mix of funding from a local homelessness tax measure, state and city grants and credits, officials say the money to support rental subsidies for tenants and building operations is largely paid for by the federal funding that is being redirected.
The move hangs a cloud of uncertainty around the future of existing housing projects like The Charles, and could prevent other similar projects in the region from opening.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, headed by Secretary Scott Turner, issued new guidelines earlier this month that will shift the majority of the $3.9 billion program
funding away from permanent housing and rapid rehousing efforts, toward more temporary or transitional housing and supportive services for substance abuse and mental health.
In Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, that could amount to as much as a cumulative $35 million loss annually, amid a potential $100 million hit across the entire Bay Area.
Turner, in a statement, called the program a “Biden-era slush fund that fueled the homelessness crisis,” and said the change “restores accountability to homelessness programs and promotes self-sufficiency among vulnerable Americans.”
Vivian Wan, the CEO of Abode Services, a Fremont-based nonprofit housing provider in the Bay Area, said the federal government’s move away from “housing first” approaches to helping people get off the street isn’t just a policy change, it’s a moral shift.
“Everyone in our community deserves a stable place to call home, regardless of how much money they make,” Wan said during a press conference on Monday. “We must continue to invest in permanent housing solutions or people will just get stuck in shelters, transitional housing, interim housing, and many people will stay outside and be pushed outside.”
Liccardo sent a letter to federal housing officials on Monday. More than 30 other members of Congress, including Zoe Lofgren and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, signed onto the letter, which challenges the administration’s decision and asks for more information.
“It does not move the ball forward a single inch to be pushing hundreds of thousands of people out of their existing homes and claiming that we’re going to come up with better solutions for homelessness,” Liccardo said. “We need to keep people housed while we are working on these more intractable challenges.”
He also said he plans to talk to his Republican counterparts whose districts are also affected by the changes to “see if we could put together legislation to reverse the administration’s decision.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced that California, as part of a 20-state coalition, filed a lawsuit over the changes.
“The Trump administration’s callous and unlawful decision threatens to upend generational progress and strategies that are making a difference in turning the nationwide homelessness crisis around and jeopardize housing access for American families,” Newsom’s office said in a statement.
Alvarido said she hopes the funding for programs like the one supporting her family can continue.
“Because all families, especially families with children, they deserve to have a chance to have this security and the feeling of safety that we get to feel now,” she said.
The first day in their new home was one filled with excitement and possibilities. She and Barragan talked about how important it is to have a space they can properly baby-proof, how she is looking forward to making a big batch of brownies in their new kitchen, and taking a shower in a private bathroom.
“My husband was saying that we should host Christmas, so I guess that might be on the table,” Alvarido said. “And definitely having our friends and family over to enjoy the new space with us and start creating memories.”
