Rise Higher

Friday evening was one for the history books. On January 9, 2026, Detroit came alive as Mayor Mary Sheffield hosted the city’s first Inaugural Ball in over 50 years at The Icon.

This wasn’t just a celebration—it was a powerful show of solidarity toward ending homelessness. A portion of the proceeds raised through ticket sales will be generously donated to HAND to support our mission. We were surprised to be selected, but we weren’t shocked that Mayor Sheffield is standing in support of those experiencing homelessness. Since her early days on the Detroit City Council, she has been committed to ending homelessness.

Thank you, Mayor Sheffield, for choosing HAND as the beneficiary of this milestone evening—and to every attendee who helped turn a celebration into a commitment to Detroit’s most vulnerable. This couldn’t come at a better time. Due to some changing federal priorities, about 500 units of homeless housing are on the verge of expiring over the next few months while another 800 more are in jeopardy by the end of 2026. With these funds, HAND will work alongside the Detroit Continuum of Care and the resolute community of homeless service providers to prevent homelessness for these men, women, and children who are on the verge on homelessness if their federal subsidy expires. While we might not be able to help every household impacted, we will stretch and leverage resources as best as possible.

HAND is excited to continue partnering with Mayor Sheffield as she builds a citywide office focused on poverty and homelessness—ensuring no Detroiter is left behind. Together, we will RISE HIGHER DETROIT!

— Tasha Gray, Executive Director, HAND

Detroit CoC FY 2025 NOFO UPDATE

The Detroit CoC wanted to provide our community with an update on the FY 2025 Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity as we look ahead to our work in the new year. We would like to remind our community that our current CoC funded projects remain operating under FY2024 grant agreements that are not impacted by the legal proceedings outlined below.

December 19 Hearings

On December 19 a hearing was held in response to the lawsuits filed against HUD in response to the initial FY2025 NOFO. The judge in this case “grant[ed] motions for a preliminary injunction, which will temporarily block…the administration’s attempts to implement unlawful and unreasonable restrictions that seek to shift funding away from proven solutions to homelessness. You can read more about the judge’s ruling here. You may also review the newsletter from the National Alliance to End Homelessness regarding this ruling here.

This ruling means that HUD cannot move forward with implementing the NOFO without further legal review.

The judge’s order given on the 19th was verbal, and we anticipate a written order, which may contain more information, to be provided in the coming days/weeks. Given the holidays, this written order may not come until early January. It is important to note that the order given on the 19th is not the final ruling.

FY2025 NOFO Rescission and Re-released NOFO

On December 8, HUD rescinded their initial FY2025 CoC Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). With that recission, HUD communicated an intent to re-release the NOFO at a later date. Late in the day on December 19 (after the hearing noted above) HUD re-released the FY2025 NOFO, which you may find here. However, given the current legal action, HUD cannot “implement or enforce” this re-released NOFO until there is further legal review. At this time, we do not know when this additional review will occur or what the outcome of such review may be. Because HUD is not able to implement this current NOFO, this NOFO is on pause at this time.

Local Competition

Given this current pause on the NOFO, the Detroit CoC is maintaining the previously communicated January 16, 2026 deadlines for transition grants and new projects. More information on the local CoC funding competition can be found here.

Lastly, HAND will continue to monitor the on-going legal proceedings and communicate updates as they become available.

We wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season!

— Homeless Action Network of Detroit

Local Application Deadline Update

Yesterday (Dec 8) HUD rescinded the FY2025 Continuum of Care NOFO. With that rescission, HUD also communicated an intent to re-release this NOFO at a later date. As of this time, we do not know what this later date will be.

 You may also be aware that the federal judge considering the lawsuits against HUD will be holding another hearing on December 19. Depending on the outcome of that hearing, we may need to make additional changes to our local process. That will be determined after December 19.

 Given these new developments, the Detroit CoC has pushed back the local CoC application deadline (for transition grants and new project applications) to January 16, 2026. The new deadline for these materials is now 11:59 pm on Friday, January 16, 2026.

For more information, please contact Amanda Sternberg at amanda@handetroit.org. 

2025 NOFO Update

On November 13, HUD released the 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). A major update this year is the return to an annual competition cycle. The previous administration had shifted the process to a biennial format in 2024, giving agencies two years between competitions. That change has now been reversed. The NOFO may be accessed here (at grants.gov). The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) has published a full analysis of the new NOFO here.

This shift back to yearly competition means agencies will have significantly less time to prepare; many relied on the extended timeline to plan and gather data. HAND will be holding a webinar on Monday, November 24, from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm for all agencies interested in applying for renewal and/or new CoC funding. You can register for the webinar here.

Stay tuned for updates from the Detroit CoC as we unpack the implications of the 2025 NOFO and what it means for our local competition. You can register for our biweekly CoC newsletter here.

Affordable Housing Progress in the Detroit CoC

Our community faces an urgent affordable housing crisis. Rising rents, lack of affordability, and increasing homelessness make Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) more important than ever.

The Detroit CoC's PSH Review Subcommittee reviews and supports projects applying for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), ensuring they align with CoC priorities and the City of Detroit’s and Michigan’s housing plans. LIHTC is fundamental to affordable housing development. Recent legislative changes such as a 12% increase in credit authority and reduced bond financing thresholds mean more funding opportunities for our region.

Because of the Subcommittee's work, 160 new PSH units have come online in less than a year, a process that once took three full competition cycles. Looking ahead, 235 additional units are projected for 2026, with projects like Sanctuary at Brewster (40 units) and Saint Mary’s (61 units) expanding housing options and strengthening our community’s capacity to end homelessness.

Recent Projects

Four major projects supported in the October 2025 funding round:

• Healthy Village (MiSide)

• Bellevue Village (Church of the Messiah)

• Dexter Duo

• Woodward & Adams (NOAH at Central, 39 units)

Recent completions:

• Campbell Street (MiSide, 40 units, 20 CoC-funded)

• Hubbard Farms (MiSide, 60 units, 30 CoC-funded)

• St. Matthew’s (25 units) and Benjamin O. Davis (25 units) programs are nearing lease-up

• Mariners Inn's Anchor project opened with 44 units in late 2024

If you are interested in affordable housing development, contact the Lease-up Team at CoCLeaseupteam@handetroit.org.

2025 PIT and HIC Reports Available

The 2025 Point in Time Count (PIT) and 2025 Housing Inventory Count (HIC) reports are now available.

The Point-in-Time Count (PIT) provides a snapshot of the number of people who were experiencing homelessness in our community on this one night. This includes people experiencing homelessness who are Unsheltered and persons in Emergency Shelter, Safe Havens and Transitional Housing programs. In accordance with HUD’s biennial requirement, the unsheltered count was not conducted in 2025.

The report provides a detailed overview of the various sections including Household Populations and Demographics included in the PIT count and separated by multiple subpopulations including Veteran, Unaccompanied Youth, and Parenting Youth Households.

Access the PIT reports here.

The HIC is an inventory of projects that provide beds and units dedicated to serve people experiencing homelessness. This Housing Inventory Count (HIC) includes emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, safe haven, and transitional housing projects in the cities of Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park. This report provides an overview comparison of the data from the 2024 and 2025 HICs.

Access the HIC reports here.

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Detroit CoC Competition Update

The Detroit Continuum of Care (CoC) is preparing for the 2025 renewal competition following new guidance from HUD. Although 2025 was initially expected to be a non-competitive year, HUD announced on July 3rd that it will release a 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). This means the CoC will participate in the full competition cycle, including submission of both individual project applications and the CoC application.

The CoC competition is a competitive national funding process. HUD evaluates each CoC based on performance metrics and the strength of its application. The higher the score, the greater the potential funding awarded to our community.

Key Changes for this Year's Competition:

• Unexpected Competition Year: Although the 2024 NOFO was a two-year notice, HUD confirmed that a full CoC competition will take place in 2025.

• Potential for New Funding: HUD’s most recent communication suggests there may be opportunities for new project funding, particularly for street outreach and transitional housing.

• Shortened Timeline: All renewal application materials must be submitted by 12:00 PM on July 24, 2025.

• Streamlined Application Process: Narrative questions have been removed and the focus is on performance data from calendar year 2024.

• Minimal Scoring Adjustments: Two new scoring elements have been added for the coordinated entry grant administered by HAND.

Watch the webinar on our YouTube channel.

CoC Builds Update

On May 16, 2025, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) re-released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a special funding opportunity called CoC Builds. The CoC Builds NOFO allows the Detroit CoC to submit one application for funding for capital costs to develop a new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) project.

The May 2025 NOFO is a re-release of the original CoC Builds NOFO released in 2024. In response to the 2024 NOFO, the CoC Board approved, via a local competition, to submit to HUD the PSH application from Full Circle Communities/NOAH at Central. This application was submitted to HUD in November 2024. 

HUD has not, and will not, be making funding decisions from the 2024 applications submitted. Rather, any applications that still want to be considered for CoC Builds must be resubmitted to HUD in response to the current NOFO. The Detroit CoC is still limited to submitting just one application to HUD, with the deadline for submission to HUD being June 26, 2025. 

Given the short timeline for application submission, and that the Full Circle Communities/NOAH project has already been vetted and approved by the CoC Board, the CoC Board approved that this application be re-submitted to HUD in response to this NOFO without holding another local competition.

It is anticipated HUD may make additional CoC Builds funding available at a future date. When that occurs, it is anticipated another local competition will be held for those funds at that time. 

Additional information on the CoC Builds funding opportunity may be found on HUD’s website here.



For any questions or concerns, contact Amanda Sternberg at amanda@handetroit.org.