Advocacy Corner
At YWCA Greater Cleveland, we know that lasting change requires action beyond our walls. Advocacy is at the heart of our mission. Here, you’ll find resources to stay informed and engaged—whether it’s understanding key legislation, learning how public policy impacts our community, or making your voice heard at the ballot box.
From voter education to opportunities for involvement, Advocacy Corner connects you to the tools and information you need to drive equity and justice in Greater Cleveland and beyond. Together, we can influence the systems that shape our lives and create a community where every person can thrive.
Take Action - Contact Your Representatives
YOUR VOICE MATTERS!!!
Act Now to Protect Funding for Our Unhoused Communities
The Administration’s proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget would eliminate HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) Program—a critical resource that coordinates housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. This change would significantly weaken an already fragile safety net at a time when communities nationwide are facing a growing housing crisis.
While this is only a proposal, Congress will shape the final budget in the coming weeks—making this a critical moment for advocacy.
HUD and CoC funding are essential to the stability of YWCA program participants, supporting access to shelter, food, and services that lead to long-term independence. Without this funding, many could face a return to homelessness. Your voice is vital in helping lawmakers understand what’s at stake.
Please use the materials below to call and/or email your elected officials’ Washington, D.C. offices as soon as possible, and urge them to press their colleagues on the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations committee in their chamber to maintain and expand CoC and other HUD funding. Your voice can help ensure safe, stable housing and supportive services for our community’s most vulnerable neighbors.
Tools to Take Action
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April xx, 2026
Dear [Representative] or [Senator] [Last Name],
Subject:Protect HUD and Continuum of Care Funding in FY2027
HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) and other programs play a critical role in efforts to prevent and end homelessness in Cuyahoga County, as well as across our state and nation, and we need your support in securing $5.1 billion for these critical funding streams.
The CoC Program has had strong bipartisan support since Congress established it under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 and made it permanent more than 15 years ago. The CoC also enjoys extensive bipartisan support among U.S. mayors, who banded together in December to sign a letter urging Congress to renew CoC funding. In the words of Oklahoma City’s Mayor David Holt, a Republican, “Regardless of one’s political party or ideology, the fact is that these existing grants are keeping people off of the streets right now.”
These grants are used for the benefit of people experiencing homelessness in our communities, including families with children, unaccompanied youth, veterans, people with disabilities, and older adults. The funding pays for a range of interventions, including:
1) shelters and outreach services for people experiencing homelessness;
2) rental assistance for people who need short-term, partial rental subsidies that help people who became homeless for financial reasons get back on their feet; and
3) comprehensive rental assistance and wraparound supportive services, including substance use and behavioral health services, for people experiencing homelessness with one or more disabilities.
Severe shortages of affordable housing are the root cause of the problem, resulting currently in more than 17,500 individuals nationwide becoming homeless for the first time each week.
Supportive housing is especially critical for older adults, youth exiting foster care, and others with long term or chronic disabilities who face an elevated risk of episodic or long-term homelessness. By preventing unnecessary institutionalization, incarceration, prolonged shelter stays, and premature death on the streets, supportive housing is a data-driven, accountability-based model that has been proven to change the trajectory of individual outcomes while reducing strain and costs across public systems.
In the absence of stable housing, communities incur significant costs associated with alternative responses. Communities spend upwards of $15,000 per person annually on crisis services alone. Incarceration costs approximately $131 dollars per day, and hospitalization can exceed $1,200 per day. By comparison, housing paired with services costs approximately $72 per day and provides a stable foundation for recovery, employment, and long-term stability. These cost differentials underscore that supportive housing represents a fiscally responsible approach that delivers measurable savings alongside proven improved outcomes.
For these reasons, we respectfully urge Congress to include robust funding in the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill and preserve CoC funding—only Congress can decide its future. Housing combined with supportive services helps our communities’ most vulnerable break the cycle of homelessness and achieve stability, recovery, health, and independence.
Sincerely,
[Signed/Electronic Signature/or Printed Name]
[Your First & Last Name]
[Your Address]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]
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Sen. Jon Husted: 202.224.3353
Sen. Bernie Moreno: 202.224.2315
📞 Phone Script:
Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City/Zip Code].
I’m calling to urge you to preserve and expand funding for housing stability and support services for our most vulnerable neighbors in the Fiscal Year 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill.
YWCA Greater Cleveland receives substantial Continuum of Care and other HUD funding to provide supportive housing to unhoused individuals in our low-barrier shelter, as well as for young adults aging out of foster care and older adults in our permanent supportive housing facilities. Without these funds, many could be left without shelter, food, and services to sustain them and help them achieve independence.
Can we count on you to protect and expand this essential funding?
Thank you for your time and support.
Please provide your name and contact information so the staff know you are a constituent, take you seriously, and send you a written response—make sure to request that they confirm their support in writing!
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You can locate your members of Congress and their contact information here, and cut and paste the signed, dated letter in the email forms provided. Make sure to request a written response from them for your records!
