New rules will create a 'pipeline from the street to the cell block and the psych ward'

WEST WARWICK – Advocates worry that the population of homeless people in Rhode Island could swell by thousands as new rules for federal continuum of care funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development may result in Rhode Island losing up to $17 million in housing funds.

The new rules, released Nov. 13 by HUD through its "Notice of Funding Opportunity" or NOFO, make a wide variety of changes to federal housing policy and, because they were released so late, mean that awards won't go out until June 2026, leaving many programs with start dates closer to the beginning of the year without funding.

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