The letter, below, was sent to Senator Collins’ Office in response to concerns that the Maine Continuum of Care was not submitting an application for the 2025 CoCBuilds NOFO.
Letters will also be sent to our other Congressional Delegates.
Subject: FY 2025 HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) Builds Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
The Maine Continuum of Care deeply appreciates Senator Collins’ support and efforts around assisting the State of Maine in so many areas, but especially in preventing and ending homelessness. Senator Collins has especially worked to ensure that HUD recognizes the needs of rural states, such as in all three versions of the CoC Builds NOFO.
The Maine Continuum of Care has reviewed the FY 2025 HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) Builds Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which was released last Friday.
The criteria listed in the application requires the city, county and state in which the project will be located to prohibit public camping. This new criteria prevents Maine from being eligible to apply for and receive funding under this CoC Builds application and raises serious concerns about them being included in any future Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
Although some jurisdictions in Maine have enacted anti-camping legislation, most cities in Maine have not. In addition, there is not a statewide ban on public camping. Linking CoC funding to anti-camping laws, especially in the many jurisdictions in Maine which do not have available shelter beds, effectively incentivizes the criminalization of homelessness. This approach undermines decades of progress towards serving persons who are homeless in Maine and punishes people for not having access to shelter.
Another troubling element is requiring that HUD funding through the CoC has involvement from federal law enforcement agencies. While safety is important, this will deter vulnerable individuals from seeking help and participating in housing programs, and further stigmatize homelessness.
We urge Senator Collins to work with HUD and fellow policymakers to:
• Remove or revise CoC criteria that reward anti-camping or criminalization measures. Ensure that this new language is not included in any upcoming NOFO that would put the $22M in Maine’s CoC funding at risk.
• Ensure that HUD funding remains separate from federal law enforcement.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I would welcome an opportunity to discuss this further or to provide input from community members and service providers impacted by these policy shifts
Sincerely,
Dean Klein, MSW
(he/him)
Executive Director
Maine CoC