A Roof, Then a Rug Pull: Why the South’s Housing Crisis Just Got Worse
From Georgia to Texas, thousands of Southern Black families are facing the collapse of the emergency housing program meant to protect them.
More than 12,122 families across the South—from Georgia to Texas—are living in homes made possible by the federal Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program. But the program, launched in 2021 as a pandemic-era safety net, is nearing collapse.
According to a letter issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funding for EHV is expected to run out by the end of 2025—putting nearly 60,000 vulnerable Americans at risk of eviction or homelessness.
Originally backed by $5 billion through the American Rescue Plan, the EHV program was designed to help individuals and families fleeing domestic violence, homelessness, or unstable housing conditions—with the expectation that funding would last until the end of the decade.. Though the EHV program was created as part of the federal COVID response, HUD instructed housing agencies to treat the vouchers like regular long-term assistance.
But as rents rise and federal commitments stall, the South—already home to some of the highest rates of poverty, housing discrimination, and underfunded public support—could face one of the largest waves of displacement since the height of the pandemic.
“To have it stop would completely upend all the progress that they’ve made,” Sonya Acosta, a housing policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, told the Associated Press. “And then you multiply that by 59,000 households.”
Running Deeper in the South
Recent HUD data shows that 12,122 Emergency Housing Vouchers are currently leased across Southern states, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and the Carolinas—accounting for nearly 21% of all vouchers nationwide.
These are the same states where affordable housing is already scarce, eviction rates remain stubbornly high, and social services are under continuous attack. In cities like Jackson, Birmingham, and Tallahassee, local housing authorities used EHVs to move families out of shelters, abusive households, or extended-stay motels—often with few other options.
Now, those options are narrowing—again.
In Mississippi alone, the South Mississippi Housing Authority leased 316 vouchers—enough to stabilize nearly a third of the state’s known homeless population. In Florida, the Jacksonville and Miami housing authorities collectively leased hundreds. Without renewed federal support, local programs will be forced to either scale down drastically or brace for a spike in housing instability.
The program’s expiration will hit hardest in Black communities, particularly among Black women and children, who already experience housing instability at disproportionate rates due to generational poverty, wage gaps, and systemic barriers to homeownership.
In many Southern cities, families who received EHV support were those who had exhausted every other option—survivors of domestic abuse, women aging out of foster care, and formerly incarcerated individuals trying to rebuild their lives. For them, the voucher was not just rent—it was restoration. And the collapse of this program doesn’t just threaten their housing. It threatens their recovery.
Congressional Inaction and the Fight Ahead
The program’s future rests with Congress, which could decide to add money as it crafts the federal budget. But it’s a relatively expensive prospect at a time when Republicans, who control Congress, are dead set on cutting federal spending to afford tax cuts.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who helped champion the program in 2021, is now calling for an $8 billion extension to save it. She has reportedly reached out to Arkansas Republican Rep. French Hill urging him to join her in requesting that the House Appropriations Committee renew funding.
However, housing advocates aren’t optimistic.
“We’ve been told it’s very much going to be an uphill fight,” said Kim Johnson of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
In the Name of Fair Housing?
The irony is right here in the room with us. During Fair Housing Month—a time meant to reflect on equity, justice, and the right to safe housing—the federal government is quietly retreating from a program that helped thousands of families access exactly that.
While there’s still time to act—in the South—where policy neglect is a pattern and not an accident, many know better than to wait for an easy rescue.
But if this program collapses, it won’t be an accident or coincidence.
It’ll be a choice.
13 & South is a new publication covering news, investigative stories, and insights on social justice, policy, and systemic inequities impacting Southern Black communities. I value your insights, and feedback and invite your perspectives to contribute to future issues. Please feel free to contact me here or follow me on my socials! LinkedIn, Twitter, IG, BlueSky, and Threads.