Since February, 66 fair-housing groups across the country have been in limbo while their federal grants were cut, temporarily restored, then tied in with a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, the decision is back in a federal district court.

Since the Fair Housing Act of 1968, these groups have investigated housing discrimination cases and counseled victims. That includes Montana Fair Housing, which relies on a federal grant of $425,000 for about 83% of its annual budget. Advocates for cuts argue they want housing laws to return to a pre-DEI era.

Erin Kemple, vice president for fair housing services with the National Fair Housing Alliance, noted that antidiscrimination laws go back much further.

"The fair-housing laws have been on the books for a long time. And the administration doesn't seem to understand that as a result of that, they have obligations and requirements that they must uphold," she explained. "It's not a policy, it's the law."

Kemple said briefs are due to the district court Friday, April 11. According to the Alliance, there were more than 33,000 reported complaints of housing discrimination in the U.S. in 2023.

Kemple calls housing a "hub" around which almost everything in a person's life revolves.

"It's going to determine where your kids go to school, where you get a job, your access to transportation, your access to food, and even where you go to church on the weekends. All of that is impacted by where you live," she continued.

She added that interruptions to housing services can impact people who use shelters, older Americans moving in or out of nursing homes and access to fresh food.


get more stories like this via email

It is estimated more than 2,600 people live on the streets across Arkansas.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has proposed a "treatment first" plan, which includes moving unhoused people into camps.

Neil Sealy, senior organizer for Arkansas Community Organizations, said the proposal does not address the root cause of homelessness.

"There are a lot of homeless people who have addiction problems and they need help, but they also need to have a safe place to live," Sealy pointed out. "Putting them in an internment camp is outrageous and it's punitive and it needs to be stopped."

Sealy noted Arkansas has been in a housing crisis since the 1980s and additional cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development will make things worse. The number of unhoused people increased 6% between 2022 and 2023.

The president has not made a formal announcement about his homelessness plans but cuts have been made to programs supporting efforts to help unsheltered people across the country. During his campaign, Trump said unhoused people would be moved into tent cities and required to undergo mental health or drug treatment. Sealy emphasized not everyone who lives on the streets needs such services.

"That is not the only cause of homelessness," Sealy underscored. "There are all kinds of situations in life that -- when your money is gone -- and when you're now going to cut subsidized housing and you're not going to build more housing, but if they find you on the streets you're going to stay in a tent."

The president said the administration will work with people who are down on their luck to reintegrate them into a normal life. He added those refusing treatment would be jailed.

Sealy contended with fewer federal dollars, the Arkansas economy will worsen and lawmakers need to hear from their constituents.

"Call their House of Representatives, their Congressman or woman, or their Senator and keep calling," Sealy urged. "Then seek out organizations like ours who are building a resistance. We just have to push back hard."


get more stories like this via email

Housing that's both affordable and ready to rent is out of reach for many Hoosiers.

The 2025 Indiana Housing Profile says for every 100 low-income households, only 38 affordable rental homes are available.

And Indiana saw almost 5,000 eviction filings in the last month, according to the nonprofit Eviction Lab at Princeton University, which tracks eviction trends nationwide.

Amy Nelson, executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, advised tenants facing eviction to reach out for help from a knowledgeable source.

"For those who may be experiencing an eviction or eviction filing, we always recommend that you get legal advice so that you can ensure that you are protecting your rights," said Nelson. "Those lawyers could also help you in negotiating with your landlord, or understanding if the action being taken against you may be unlawful or not."

A full-time worker in Indiana must earn an hourly wage of $22 to afford the average fair market rent of $1,200 for a two-bedroom home.

When rent and utilities are factored in, a household needs to earn almost $46,000 to pay the average rent without spending more than 30% of their income.

The federal Fair Housing Act, signed into law in 1968, protects renters and home buyers from discriminatory practices in lending, insurance, and zoning.

Twenty years later, protections were expanded to include discrimination based on disability or familial status, or having kids under 18.

But in February, the Trump administration started cutting grant funding to groups that enforce fair housing laws. Nelson said discrimination is real - and may be very blatant.

"You are told that you won't be rented to because you have children or because you're Latino, or because you need an accommodation for a disability," said Nelson. "But very often, it's much more subtle than that. We always tell people to trust that internal voice if something doesn't feel right, and report it to the Fair Housing Center."

Indiana landlords filed more than 73,000 evictions last year.




get more stories like this via email

Black residents in Illinois are almost eight times more likely to be homeless than white people, with lack of livable wages and affordable housing among the primary drivers.

Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago said homelessness is an issue of equity with Blacks disproportionately represented across the state. Rent burdens and economic hardship are both driving factors. In 2022, about 63% of Black renters spent more than 30% of their paycheck on housing.

Chama St. Louis, director of organizing and network expansion at the National Black Worker Center, experienced homelessness in the winter of 2011. Even though she was working full-time, she said she could not afford to pay for housing and basic needs for her and her family.

"I felt like I was doing everything right," St. Louis recounted. "You can do everything right and still end up in a place where you don't have a home, because the system is failing us."

One in four Black residents is living in poverty in Illinois and one in seven is in deep poverty. St. Louis argued the Trump administration's dismantling of DEI efforts will only further compound matters.

The state has increased investment in programs such as Home Illinois to address the significant rise in homelessness. St. Louis pointed out even though she registered her and her family as homeless, many programs required her to travel based on the availability at shelters on any given day.

"When we had no gas, then we were sleeping in Walmart parking lots," St. Louis explained. "And on days it was really cold, I would take the kids inside of Walmart and make pallets for them at the bottom of a cart and push them around Walmart for seven hours until the sun came up."

St. Louis added she is now dedicated to helping others who experience homelessness. Along with advocating for improved conditions and wages for Black workers, she stressed she tries to humanize the crisis.

"Outside of the real work that we have to do around policy and making sure that people from a systemic standpoint are being treated fairly, we still have to make sure that we are human beings who care about one another and want to see each other do well," St. Louis emphasized.

The state has earmarked $290 million for homeless services this year but advocates are asking for an additional $100 million for emergency housing, assistance and prevention programs.