On May 22, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley rolled out a plan to shift $2.5 million in federal HOME funds into tenant-based rental assistance for people living unsheltered, a move county officials say would speed exits from the street into permanent housing. The County Board of Supervisors is slated to take up the plan in June. County leaders are pitching the shift as part of a Housing First strategy that pairs rent subsidies with supportive services to keep people stably housed.
What Crowley Proposed
According to FOX6 News Milwaukee, Crowley and the Department of Health and Human Services are asking to reallocate $2.5 million in federal HOME funds specifically to tenant-based rental assistance for people living unsheltered. The station reports the County Board will weigh the proposal in June and that, if it passes, administration officials are calling it the largest single homelessness investment in county history. County staff told the outlet that rental assistance is still the most effective tool they have to maintain the recent drop in unsheltered homelessness.
The Pitch From County Hall
In a news release from Milwaukee County, Crowley put it bluntly: "Housing security is a key determinant of health for County residents." The release says the county has leaned on rental subsidies, case management and rapid-rehousing programs to push down the number of people living unsheltered. Officials say the proposed $2.5 million shift would plug people who are sleeping outdoors into housing and supportive services as part of that same continuum.
Local Context
Those talking points come as the local homelessness picture gets more complicated. Despite recent wins on street homelessness in past Point-in-Time counts, local reporting shows demand for shelter and services climbing and more people flowing into the homelessness response system. Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and Wisconsin Watch report that more residents sought help in 2024-25, particularly seniors and single adults. The county has repeatedly highlighted its very low unsheltered tallies in recent years, including counts of as few as 17 people on a single night, when defending its Housing First approach. Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and WUWM have detailed those trends and counts.
How the Money Would Be Used
Under federal rules, HOME funds can be steered into tenant-based rental assistance if a participating jurisdiction designs a TBRA program and writes it into its consolidated plan. HUD guidance spells out how those programs are supposed to run and what requirements apply. In Milwaukee County, the HOME/CDBG subrecipient manual and recent budgets show the county has already used federal dollars for rental subsidies and supportive housing efforts. In a typical TBRA setup, the program pays part of a tenant's rent while pairing that help with case management or housing navigation. For the fine print, see HUD and the county's HOME/CDBG manual.
What’s Next
The County Board is expected to take up Crowley's reallocation request in June. If supervisors sign off, the Department of Health and Human Services would work with partner agencies to move the tenant-based subsidies through existing programs. FOX6 News Milwaukee reports that county officials describe the proposal as the largest single investment in homelessness in county history. How fast that money reaches people living outside will depend on committee schedules and how quickly DHHS can roll out the changes.
