During the commissioners' opening public comment period on May 6, Sabrina, a Caroline County resident and member of the Continuum of Care executive committee that serves the county, urged the board to investigate the local consequences of proposed federal budget changes to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs.

Sabrina said the federal budget proposal included steep reductions for HUD homeless assistance grants — she cited a figure of $532,000,000 in proposed cuts at the federal level — and described a proposed consolidation that she said would "effectively eliminate funding for critical services like permanent supportive housing, coordinated entry, dedicated HMIS grants, and overall continuum of care planning." She said the Continuum of Care for Caroline County is run through the Midshore Round Table on Homelessness and that reductions would directly affect local families.

"This directly impacts people, humans in our county," Sabrina said. She told commissioners that while she did not want to overstate numbers, "it's maybe 64 households that rely on this in Caroline County," and asked the board to help determine and publicize the local impact so constituents could contact their federal representatives.

Why it matters: cuts to HUD homeless‑assistance programs and changes to the Continuum of Care structure would alter the federal funding stream that supports shelter, coordinated entry, HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) and permanent supportive housing, potentially affecting county residents who rely on those services.

Speakers quoted: Sabrina, resident and Continuum of Care executive committee member.