Featured Image Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Several US states are suing President Donald Trump as thousands of people are reportedly at risk of losing a roof over their heads.
A whopping 20 states have filed a lawsuit against the current administration in a bid to restore billions of dollars in funding for some of the most vulnerable people in American society.
The funding would be used to combat homelessness across the country as thousands of people in the US are at risk of losing their accommodation.
This comes as a lawsuit was filed from the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, alongside officials from 19 other states, calling for a judge to stop Trump’s government from making cuts and ‘illegal’ new conditions on anti-homelessness funding.
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The administration had put new conditions on funding, which the lawsuit argues are ‘holding these funds and the people they help hostage’.
The new conditions will mean that just 30% of Continuum of Care funds can be used to support permanent housing, as opposed to the 90% from previous terms.
If this goes ahead, it will put 170,000 people at risk of losing the accommodation, according to the suit.
It is not clear how the new conditions will impact housing services for LGBT+ people, with fears in the lawsuit being raised that these shelters could be completely shut out from federal funding.
In a statement, James said: “Communities across the country depend on Continuum of Care funds to provide housing and other resources to our most vulnerable neighbors.
“These funds help keep tens of thousands of people from sleeping on the streets every night. I will not allow this administration to cut off these funds and put vital housing and support services at risk.”
During his presidential campaign, Trump had claimed he would ‘bring back mental institutions to house and rehabilitate those who are severely mentally ill or dangerously deranged with the goal of reintegrating them back into society’.
Pascale Leone, who is the director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York, has spoken out against the current government’s new cap on federal spending for permanent housing.
Without these funds, Leone has warned that ‘the stability that so many have fought to build could unravel overnight’.
She went on to say: “As families prepare for the holiday season, they should not have to question whether they will still have a place to live when winter arrives.”
