Fort Worth has formally asked the federal government for $13.5 million to fund housing, homelessness prevention and youth programs across the city, submitting its 2026-2027 Action Plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on August 14. The request touches everything from emergency shelter beds to aging-in-place workshops, and it arrives as local homelessness keeps climbing.
The application, detailed in reporting from Tekisha Hobbs and Scott Nishimura at the Fort Worth Report, seeks four separate federal grants: $7.1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for low- and moderate-income housing and services, $2.8 million through the HOME Investment Partnership program for affordable housing, $625,000 in Emergency Solutions Grant funding for homelessness programs, and $2.9 million through Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS. Tracey Walton provided the detailed breakdown of the plan, according to the outlet's account. The city's Community Development Council, a council advisory board organized in 1974, helps set the priorities behind how that federal funding gets spent.
The request comes against a backdrop of worsening numbers. A May 2025 report from Partnership Home found homelessness in Tarrant and Parker counties rose 11% between 2024 and 2025, with 2,289 of the region's 2,637 unhoused people — nearly 87% — living in Fort Worth, as detailed by Fort Worth Report. Meanwhile, Texas Housers' analysis of the National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2026 GAP Report found the Dallas-Fort Worth metro has just 18 affordable and available rental units for every 100 extremely low-income households, well below the statewide average of 26 per 100.
Where the Homelessness Dollars Would Go
Within the Emergency Solutions Grant, homelessness prevention and special needs support is allocated $1.5 million for supportive services, rental assistance and permanent housing placement, a program that serves eligible clients across Tarrant, Johnson, Wise and Parker counties. Tarrant County Samaritan Housing is proposed to receive $950,000 for supportive services and tenant-based rental assistance, while AIDS Outreach Center is slated for $400,000 for rental, mortgage and utility assistance.
Presbyterian Night Shelter is proposed to get $145,276 for basic needs services, funding that matters most during demand spikes — in January 2025, the shelter exceeded its base capacity of 100 men's beds and 40 women's beds by housing 174 people during a freezing weather event, triggering the city's emergency overflow system. True Worth Place would receive $150,000 for day shelter operations, case management and classes, and the Salvation Army of North Texas is proposed for $103,274.50 to run its Home Sweet Home program, which covers up to six months of rental arrears and three months of rent for households at risk of homelessness.
Center for Transforming Lives is proposed to receive $100,000 for homelessness prevention through the city plan — separate from the $2.3 million the Tarrant County Commissioners Court allocated to the organization in October 2025 from its Community Outreach Fund, which is going toward emergency rental and utility support for roughly 2,000 low-income households facing eviction, according to Center for Transforming Lives. The Archway is proposed for $80,000 to support shelter and services for domestic violence victims and their children.
Affordable Housing and the Wage Gap Behind It
Of the $2.8 million HOME Investment Partnership allocation, $2.6 million is earmarked for housing counseling, homebuyer assistance and affordable housing development, with those funds eligible for acquisition, new construction, rehabilitation, site improvements and other development costs. The Housing Channel is proposed to receive $70,000 for homeownership training and education.
The pressure behind those line items is stark. The National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2026 Out Of Reach report, published in July, found that a full-time worker in the Fort Worth metro must earn $33.13 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent — well above the average Texas renter wage of $26.09 an hour, per Texas Housers' analysis. Census Bureau estimates put the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro's population gain at 123,557 between 2024 and 2025, ranking second among U.S. metro areas.
Youth and Senior Programs Rounding Out the Plan
The Community Development Block Grant funding would also support a slate of youth and senior services. United Community Centers is proposed for $125,000 for guided reading programs serving children ages 4 to 13, and Building Pathways would receive $73,000 for a 12-week workforce development program for people ages 16 to 30 facing employment barriers. Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County is proposed for $40,000 to support its Eastside Branch and mobile clubhouse services in Stop Six, while Camp Fire First Texas would get $65,000 for its Teens in Action youth development services.
My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, the organization behind Fort Worth's earlier $1 million pilot program combining housing with mental health services, is proposed for $110,000 to fund its Help Me Grow and Help Me Thrive programs. Communities In Schools of Greater Tarrant County would receive $50,000 for intensive case management in local schools, and Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County is proposed for $160,000 to deliver meals to eligible older, disabled and homebound adults. Guardianship Services Inc. is slated for $70,000 for aging-in-place workshops for low- and moderate-income Fort Worth residents age 62 and older, and the Veterans Center of North Texas would get $30,000 for emergency financial assistance to low- and moderate-income veteran households.
Not every applicant made the cut. The city disqualified one organization for lacking an alternative funding source or a physical location, and staff plan to reallocate that $30,000 to another nonprofit. Other proposed grantees include Artes de la Rosa at $60,000 for cultural fine arts programs and camps, Junior Achievement of Chisholm Trail at $45,000 to support the Fort Worth Cradle to Career initiative, The Women's Center at $70,000 for in-home PEARLS program sessions, and the YouthVantage Alliance at $75,000 for academic, leadership and mentoring programs.
The $13.5 million request runs through the annual execution phase of Fort Worth's 2023-2027 Consolidated Plan, the five-year federal framework under which the city expects roughly $13.5 million a year from HUD, or about $65 million over five years, for housing and community development. The plan also includes a $2.9 million HOPWA request.
