“This is not a time to walk back services. Our capacity is growing, and we need to be expanding,” Daybreak CEO Courtney Patel. “But as the funding is slowly being pulled back, we’re trying to get creative and find other ways to support our services.”
In November, HUD posted a notice for funding opportunities that included a list of changes to project priorities. The notice includes $3.9 billion in available funds and a cap of 30 percent on the amount of awards that may be used for permanent housing projects. HUD expects to grant 1,500 fewer awards than its previous funding announcement.
Federal housing fundsat risk of delay, reduction, revocation
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
HUD officials have said their proposed changes to how federal funds are distributed aim to bring accountability to programs that they claim have been ineffective at ending homelessness, while also promoting self-sufficiency among vulnerable Americans. An analysis by the National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates the changes could result in more than 13,000 Ohioans losing housing.
For now, HUD’s changes to federal funding access are tied up in the court system, according to the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. But delays to the application process for federal funds could also result in funding lapses for nonprofits, the association warned.
Organizations that have used a “definition of sex other than binary” could also be completely federally defunded. Daybreak established David’s Place, which provides resources to LGBTQ+ young people, in 2021. David’s Place is no longer affiliated with Daybreak.
LGBTQ+ youth are more than 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. They make up as high as 40% of all youth experiencing homelessness, despite representing only 9.5% of the overall population, according to the National Network for Youth.
Nearly 140 young people served by Daybreak in the 2025 fiscal year identify as LGBTQ+, according to Daybreak.
Permanent housing support
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
Patel said housing and behavioral health support are needed now more than ever before. Inflation, the high cost of living, the rising cost of housing and other factors can drive housing instability among families and create uncertainty for young adults.
Daybreak is funded through governmental grants, private donations, fundraising events and other community support. HUD funds represent 20% of Daybreak’s funding, Daybreak officials told this news outlet.
Daybreak provides emergency shelter, food, clothing and counseling to people ages 10 to 24 and operates the Miami Valley’s only 24-hour crisis hotline and emergency youth shelter. There’s a wait list for the shelter’s 24 transitional living spaces. Another 24 beds are available in its emergency shelter.
Cuts to federal funding would affect Daybreak’s permanent housing program, which offers apartments to young people aged 18-24 who are or are at risk of experiencing homelessness. The program, over the span of two years, gradually allows these young adults to take over the lease of an efficiency apartment with fair-market rent. The program offers participants case management, life skills development, educational and employment support, and other services.
More than 100 apartments house a consistent flow of young adults who enter and exit the program. This program aims to help young people develop the necessary skills for independence and “break the cycle” of housing instability, said Patel.
“This is an opportunity for young adults to get their feet under them,” Patel said. “And it gives them this ramp to get back into the community.”
Homelessness among local youth persists
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
The annual point-in-time count, mandated nationwide by the federal housing department, is slated to take place locally later this month.
Montgomery County continues to see an increase in the number of individuals sleeping unsheltered. The January 2025 count saw 111 people sleeping outside of shelters and homes, a nearly 21% increase from the 2024 count.
Many of the children who stay at Daybreak have parents who are staying at another local shelter. Daybreak officials explained that sometimes families do not want their children staying with them in a congregate setting due to privacy and other concerns.
In the 2025 fiscal year, which ended in June, Daybreak served 519 youth. Roughly 120 of these youth were children 17 and younger. The average length of stay for minors in Daybreak’s shelter was 4 days, while young adults stayed an average of 70 days, according to data shared with this news outlet.
Patel said the next few years will be challenging, but Daybreak will work with community partners to serve children and young adults.
“We will continue providing support and services,” Patel said. “Youth will always have a place to go. And we will do as much as we can with the space we have.”
Credit: Bryant Billing
Credit: Bryant Billing
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