BALTIMORE — Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced late Tuesday that Maryland was one of several states filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over a policy change that could impact thousands of Marylanders.
The Continuum of Care grant program is at the center of the lawsuit.
The program was created to address homelessness in 1987, with the purpose of promoting "community-wide commitment of ending homelessness," and worked to reduce homelessness by promoting a housing-first approach, according to the complaint filed Tuesday.
According to a press release from the Office of the Attorney General, the Department is making drastic changes to the program, including reducing grant funds and creating conditions to access the funding.
"These unlawful policies will force more than 4,000 Marylanders out of their homes," Brown said in a statement. "We're filing this lawsuit to stop these reckless changes from pushing families onto the streets."
The states are asking for a judge to stop a new Notice of Funding Opportunity from going into effect that could cancel thousands of projects, and "eliminates funding to applicants that acknowledge the existence of transgender and gender-diverse people."
Other states signed onto the lawsuit include nearby Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia.
