'Under threat': How HUD cuts could hit Oklahoma families hard

As the country faces a homelessness and housing crisis, there are plans to reshape a decades-old initiative, commonly known as HUD. 

Here's what you need to know about the proposal to cut funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development also known as HUD.

What is HUD?

HUD is a federal agency that keeps people housed. So they manage programs, like rental assistance, support for people experiencing homelessness,

How could a new proposal affect HUD recipients?

The proposal would stop rental assistance programs after two years. Currently, there is no time limit.

Why is this proposal being opposed?

HUD Secretary Scott Turner says that policies like time limits will fix fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs.

In an AP article, Turner said, “It’s broken and deviated from its original purpose HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent.”

How is this impacting Oklahomans receiving HUD assistance?

An AP article stated that if families were cut off after two years, 1.4 million households could lose their vouchers and public housing subsidies.

This impacts working families with children, resulting in housing authorities evicting families.

“We have seen rising evictions and homelessness already and this proposal it threatens to make that even worse," said Brown.

Who does this federal funding cut impact?

Senior Policy Analyst Sabine Brown said, "Out of 32,000 that would be at risk of losing their subsidies, about half of those people live in households where somebody works."

18,000 of the 32,000 are children.