Housing Forward is bracing for the impact that the next federal budget could have on America’s housing safety net.
Leaders at Housing Forward, the nonprofit agency responsible for supporting people experiencing housing instability and chronic homelessness in Cook County’s near western suburbs, are preparing for what may be a major cut to their federal funding. Lynda Schueler, the agency’s executive director, said most of the subsidized rental units that the group provides to its clients are paid for by federal funding that would be eliminated through the preliminary federal budget plan being considered by congress.
The cuts would fundamentally change how communities combat homelessness, she said.
“This will be a national crisis, and I don’t mean to overstate that,” Schueler said. “It’s essentially chopping down a pillar to our organization.”
President Donald Trump’s recent budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2026, a preliminary plan released May 2 outlined a 44% cut to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, with the largest cuts coming via a 43% reduction in rental assistance programs that support more than 9 million Americans, according to Stateline. In total, the plan calls for more than $26.7 billion to be cut from the federal government’s five largest rental assistance programs, including the Housing Choice Vouchers program informally known as Section 8.
More than 25% of Housing Forward’s budget is made up by funding coming directly from HUD, including seven permanent supportive housing contracts Housing Forward has with the agency that supports more than 300 long-term subsidized units for people with disabilities experiencing chronic homelessness, Schueler said.
“That’s of considerable concern if that funding goes away, that means a return to being unhoused,” Schueler said. “Basically, 75% of our housing is supported by federal funds.”
The Trump administration said that the proposed cuts are meant to shift rental assistance administration to state governments by shifting the program towards state block grants.
The plan would also put a two-year cap on people without disabilities receiving federal rental assistance. The average household income of Housing Choice Voucher recipients is around $18,500 per year, according to HUD data based on the 2020 U.S. census.
Schueler said that while the agency would have time to prepare before this budget would go into effect, there is nothing at the state level that can replace the federal funding and no easy answer to how the organization and others like it would move forward.
“There’s no replacement,” she said. “There is no long-term equivalent at the state level that would be able to step in and provide any support to the extent that the federal resources provide to us.”
The deep cuts would ultimately increase homelessness across the United States and put an extra burden on local health systems, Schueler fears.
“This is going to have a ripple effect not only for our clients, but for the entire safety net system that’s been in place for 50-plus years,” she said. “You’re going to see an increase in homelessness.”
Homelessness increased by 18% in the U.S. in 2024, she said.
Housing Forward served more than 2,500 individuals and families last year across 26 suburban communities including Oak Park, Maywood, Forest Park, Brookfield. Berwyn and Cicero. Among the rental assistance programs the organization administers, several are dedicated to providing stable housing and wraparound services to domestic violence survivors, people with severe mental health issues and young adults exiting the foster care system.
Housing Forward opened its first permanent supportive housing development last year with the 16-unit Broadview Legacy Apartments complex. Housing Forward also runs an interim-housing assistance program at the former Write Inn, 211 N. Oak Park Ave., with downstream goals to further renovate the building with the help of state and local funds.
Uncertainty around the future of federal funding has lingered since Trump took office this year, with HUD’s Chicago office seeing a large cut in personnel shortly after the president took office, Schueler said.
“This is a time of stress and chaos, everyday we’ve been hearing news of cuts or claw backs or federal employees that we interface with at the HUD level whose jobs are being threatened,” she said. “Our understanding is that 25% of the HUD field office in Chicago has been cut.”
Schueler said that Housing Forward has no other choice but to press on amid the uncertainty.
“We are constantly in the position of having to advocate for the most vulnerable,” she said. “Being able to provide that assurance to them that services right now, but we really do not know what the future holds and right now the future looks very dire on many levels.”