Project Hope is a groundbreaking policy report outlining actionable steps New York City and State officials can take to shield low-income, homeless, and migrant individuals from the harmful policies outlined in the incoming Trump Administration’s Project 2025.
This report directly addresses the urgent challenges posed by this conservative policy blueprint, which aims to reshape federal governance within the first 180 days of the new administration.
In early 2024, right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation released the detailed
900-page policy book, Project 2025, to serve as a blueprint for the next conservative
presidential administration. The Heritage Foundation’s plan includes unprecedented
rollbacks to the civil rights and anti-poverty policy gains the United States has made over
the past 50 years. It proposes massive rollbacks to social welfare programs critical to
families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, including the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program
benefits, a “mass deportation” plan, which will impact tens of thousands of homeless
immigrant families, and the eradication of critical evidence-based education programs, like
Head Start.
Project Hope is a response to the draconian plans laid out in Project 2025, and, more
specifically, what we anticipate will be aggressive, fast sweeping policy changes during the
first six months of the Trump Administration that would detrimentally impact low-income
individuals and families experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Endorsed by
social service and advocacy organizations committed to ending homelessness for all,
Project Hope is a call to action to New York state and local elected officials to combat the
violent and inhumane policy proposals in Project 2025 and mitigate some of the immediate
impacts of the ultra-conservative policy playbook.
Our recommendations:
To prevent low-income households from losing their housing and to help more individuals gain access to safe, stable, and affordable housing, New York City government should:
- Allocate an additional $263 million in funding for the CityFHEPS voucher program in the FY26 budget
- Pass legislation to ensure that individuals and families who reach the proposed
Section 8 time-limit, under a Trump Administration, can seamlessly transfer to
CityFHEPS - Allocate an additional $900 million in funding for the FY26 budget for NYCHA to
address major capital improvements - Repeal the 30/60-day shelter limits on new New Yorkers and other policies that
increase homeless immigrants’ risk for deportation - Stop criminalizing homelessness and invest in community-based mental healthcare
and low-barrier housing options for individuals and families experiencing
homelessness
New York State government should:
- Pass and allocate $250 million in the FY26 budget for the Housing Access Voucher Program (S72 – Kavanagh /A3701B – Rosenthal)
- Direct all funding from New York’s Rental Supplement Program to rental assistanceprograms for homeless families traditionally ineligible for public benefits
- Allocate an additional $900 million in funding for the FY26 budget for NYCHA to address major capital improvements
- Pass legislation to prohibit arbitrary shelter limits (S8493 – Hoylman-Sigal /A9129 –Cruz), or the Governor should end shelter limits though executive order
- Stop criminalizing homelessness and invest in community-based mental healthcare andlow-barrier housing options for individuals and families experiencing homelessness